Sex Is Comedy

As being selected during the Quinzaine des réalisateurs, this year 2002, Catherine Breillat is masterfully halvedivided of her autobiographical film, there where her lead actress, Anne Parillaud (La Femme NIKITA, Luc Besson), embodies admirably the Film Director of "Intimate Scenes ".

This is a comedy of actors' manners. Making-Of ? Film genre ? Pornography or Exhibitionism? Sex Is Comedy is a post modern film, with its script based on a film within the film. As an implosive story of a minimalist love scene, the film is built with a constant solidarity of the forms and the spirit, in which, Breillat keeps on breaking and analyzing the taboos. Using visual codes and certain sense of the formula, Catherine Breillat implement her clinical analysis of the sexuality as an isolated problem outside the society to be communicate by the door of the heart.

Therefore, Grégoire Colin (Good Work, Nénette et Boni, Claire Denis, The Dreamlife of Angels, Eric Zonca) in the role of the Actor and Roxanne Mesquida (Fat girl, Catherine Breillat, Marie from the Bay of Angels, Manuel Prada), the Actress, are actors whom she invents, she does clarify in an interview. Breillat observes the man in front of him even, a chaste man. Then Breillat films the shame and the sexual mutilation, but also a big hope, a disturbing dimension of the ecstasy, a nudity of the feelings, the halving of the exhibitionism, playing to be one to be one. The Director is finally expected to lead the actors to give their feelings, their body and their soul. So arranged, facing the problem of the order of "who I am ", the actors of Breillat put on an inorganic vitality to merge in her work in progress. But, for what is a shape of incredible exorcism, for an actor, Breillat puts many questionings. Enduring at the same moment a big suffering, the actors appear to be the ones who look for this loving transport to be part of the eternity of their work.

The Art of Breillat is of researcher, to know how to undertake in a dialogue aiming at pushing away the limits of intimate scenes. Join make-up, prosthesis in erection and syndicates are not without reminding what pictures and scenes of Jan Steen's and Rembrandt could be in the anecdotal and the daily of characters on a shooting set. While the moral categories disappear from the background of Sex Is Comedy, Breillat succeeds in revealing the loving imitation power of the actors in a landscape of formidable and dramatic humanity.

This film was very interesting to me, virtually a film within a film, which is about a very whimsical director who cleverly persuades an actress and and actor (who happen to dislike each other) in producing sexual chemistry on film. The director is faced with a fusillade of obstacles as she tries to get the two individuals to perform beautifully on film. Sex is Comedy is much more than a comedy, packed with uncomfortable quirky moments the movie also addresses the psychological and innate instinctual behavior of men and women in regards to the sometimes controversial act of sex. I loved this film, the character Jeanne played by the beautiful Anne Parillaud performs wonderfully on screen as you share in her struggle to produce a motion picture work of art.

According to Catherine Breillat many people believe that by watching "making of" they can understand the intricacies of the actual shooting process. She opines that this is not quite the case and the real process of filming a feature film is unfortunately very complex,hard to follow and difficult to understand. She goes on to add that rather than simplifying the creative process these programs end up confusing the viewers. Keeping this particular idea in mind, she has filmed a unique,trend setting film which relies heavily on the whims and fancies of its principal characters. One can have a first hand experience of how difficult things are on a set when a film is being shot. Compared to other films by Catherine Breillat,sex is comedy is devoid of controversial elements. As a film director in this film Anne Parillaud looks a bit similar to Catherine Breillat.Gregoire Colin is fine too as the moody actor. As a final comment, I would like to remark that this film is very serene and an inattentive viewer might not know how quickly the film is getting over.

I had certain expectations when reading the title of this movie. No, I didn't think it would be a porn movie, but I hoped it would be a light-footed comedy about relations and sex. But big was my surprise when I actually saw it. It hasn't much to do with comedy or relationships. It's about Jeanne, a female film director who has a lot of troubles with her two main actors. They both hate each other, but are asked to play a difficult sex scene together. She has written and created the scene and knows exactly what she wants but she isn't able to make them do it right...

If you ask yourself why this movie has such a confusing title then, I'll explain to you what might have happened. Even though this is a French movie with French dialogs, the title is in English. However, I guess they have translated the title too literally. In French it would be something like: "Sex, c'est jouer la comédie", which could be translated as "Sex is faking it". That would make a lot more sense, because the actors have to pretend they like each other and that they like to have sex together while in reality they can't stand each other and don't want to do it.

The main problem that I had with this movie was that much didn't happen. It was all talking, talking and even more talking. I'm not saying that I wanted a big sex scene or a huge car chase, but this movie just seemed to drag on eternally, without offering something special. Normally I like European movies, but this one really didn't do it for me. Somehow I couldn't really care for the different characters, even though they didn't do a bad job. I give this movie a 6/10.

This is Breillat's more accessible film, if you are offended by her other movies that tend to have full frontal nudity and explicit sexual scenes. It is also her most intelligent film, where words are at play and relationships are tested.

The backdrop is a movie set, and director Jeanne has a dilemma with her actors, a fear of that big sex scene. She plays and manipulates her stars, creating a mix emotion of tension and harmony. After all it is her movie and reputation on the line, because the credit on the screen will read; A FILM BY...

Breillat's approach to this is subtle, looking into the anxieties of the director, the manipulation and mistreatment of actors, and the wonderful world of politics on the crazy film set where dreams are made.