Manu lives in Paris in a multi-racial area. One day,
she and a friend are abducted by thugs, taken in a warehouse and raped.
When she comes back home, still in shock, her brother insensitively
confronts her about the rape. An argument follows and she kills him. She
packs a bag and leaves. She meets Nadine, a prostitute who is leaving
Paris as well, escaping the death of her friend who was killed because of
drug dealings. The two girls feeling "at the end of the road" embark on a
last trip during which their desires will be the only rules. They have sex
with whom and when they please, afterwards, killing their lovers or anyone
who stands in their way.
"Baise-Moi," contrary to what critics lead us to believe, is not
the equivalent of "Rape Me" in French but rather,"Fuck me," which is
wholly different. The film starts with a rape, which sends the lead
character on a killing spree of all the men that she’ll have sex with. The
film is of course genuinely against rape and male sexual domination, so
the confusion is really detrimental. Adapted from a French best seller by
one of the co-directors, the film utilizes a no-rules, no-contraints style
to tell us about sex and violence, shot "guerilla" style, in digital video
with a low budget. The words are hard and crude, the camera moves freely,
and uses porn-style close-ups. Such freedom or subversion is great, even
laudable and has always helped the cinema to reinvent itself throughout
its already long history. Why would close-ups of genitals or erections
would be confined to the cinema X? But these shots have to be more than
just subversive. The fact that they are here is already a strong element
but it’s still not enough. We end up wishing that these strong images had
participated in the story more adequately, that they would have a point.
That’s the only reason for which we can’t be totally supportive of the
film: its pornographic sometimes gratuitous images take away some of its
strength. A strong screenplay would have created a cult film of the new
cinema, a necessary subversion in the gloomy landscape. It’s still an
interesting experience because the movie still reaches emotional heights
no matter what and reveals strong characters and compelling situations.
PhilEd.
"BAISE
MOI (RAPE ME) is a brutal, savage novel, which is meant to be disturbing.
Nadine and Manu aren't bad girls, they simply want the stay alive whatever
the costs. All they need to push them over the edge is a slight change of
path. A series of unfortunate circumstances blasts them over the line,
which separates good and evil and soon the impossible becomes possible.
Music, violence, sex, the open road and humor, are all excellent sources
of adrenaline, which help us escape the worst parts of life: Obedience,
submission, renouncing of the self and depression. They only feel alive
when killing people. One moment in time caused their lives to be upturned
and now it's too late for pity or remorse. They've crossed the boundary
and spilled over to the dark side. No more excuses, no more explanations
and no more intellectualization. We understand and feel a kinship toward
them because they are beyond judgment. They live for sensation without the
need for any introspection." Virginie Despentes.
They let go and actually feel free, only when having sex. We don't
question their rampant promiscuity and we don't know how they feel
afterward. Sex is pleasant for them and while doing it, they rid their
minds of all other worldly thoughts. For them, sex is the ultimate
relaxation tool. Filming the "hard core" sex scenes without any doubles
was very important because it will be the first time we see girls onscreen
having real live sex in a film, which isn't just about sex. The sex scenes
must be real in order to add to the authenticity of the story. A woman's
right to show off her sexuality has been perverted by men who have a
problem dealing with femininity. Women shouldn't have to deal with men's
silly little hang-ups. The film must respect the spirit of the book. The
choice of collaborating with another director, working with a reduced
production team in natural light, on video with non-experienced actors,
came about in a completely natural manner. We had to boil the story down
to its bare essentials. We had to go to a place that everyone tries to
avoid. We want to be so in your face, that we will end up in your mind
with images that you just can't ignore. I asked Coralie if she would
co-direct the film with me because we share a common vision and we have
the same way of seeing the universe. Coralie is fearless and she hasn't
been perverted by the upper class "elitist milieu" I've been
navigating through for the past four years. We share a strong feminist
warrior vision, while also possessing a cutting edge sense of
provocation. Virginie Despentes.
Released last year in Paris with a
restriction to minors under 16, the socialist government, under pressure
of some Catholics organizations, decided to take it off the screens. A
theater chain sided with the film and kept it for another 2 weeks
preventing minors under 18 to see the film. Finally the film was taken out
of release on the promise of the Culture Minister to reform the system of
censorship which didn't happen. It was the first time in recent history
that the French government interfered with the release of a film. A lot of
other countries followed, banning the film and preventing it to be
released. PhilEd
From Au-cinema
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