Film: Baise-Moi
Release date: 14th April 2003
Certificate: 18
Running time: 74 mins
Director: Virginie Despentes & Coralie
Starring: Karen Lancaume, Raffaëla Anderson, Céline Beugnot, Adama Niane, Christophe Claudy Landry
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Studio: Vision
Format: DVD
Country: France
An adaptation of the novel by the same name, Baise-Moi is an over the top French crime/thriller guaranteed to shock. Also known as Rape Me, the film pulls no punches showing us the dark and vivid journey of Nadine and Manu as they descend into an orgy of sex and violence.
The story revolves around two women, Nadine and Manu, both of which exist on the fringes of society. Nadine is a prostitute who lives in a small flat with her female roommate, who she annoys with her habits of watching pornography and smoking marijuana. Manu seems to wander the streets spending her time with drug addicts, and finding herself embroiled in gangland affairs.
These two women’s lives change dramatically as events turn against them. Nadine kills her roommate after an argument regarding her drug addicted friend. Nadine flees to her friend who is staying in a hotel, she is asked to forge a drug prescription to feed his habit, and then to take a package to one of his associates. Nadine agrees to this, but before she can depart, her friend is shot. However, determined to keep her promise to her friend, Nadine departs with the intention of completing the task he asked of her.
Manu is hanging out with her friend when they are kidnapped by a gang and taken to an abandoned warehouse, where they are raped. Manu returns to her brother’s flat where he questions her about the marks she has acquired on her neck. Upon discovering that she has been raped, he demands to know who has done it, so he can take revenge. In a fit of rage, Manu shoots her brother with his own gun, and escapes with a bundle of money.
Nadine and Manu cross paths as Manu is looking to get a train to Paris. Nadine tells Manu that all the trains have gone; the two women agree to travel with one another until Nadine can deliver her package. The two woman’s journey descends in to a spree of murder, robbery and sex, with no end in sight…
Firstly, Baise-Moi is not a film for those easily offended - it includes full un-simulated sex throughout. These scenes, as well as the film at large, are shot with a similar style as would be seen in a pornographic film. The style here is hand-held cameras, limited lighting, and a general feeling of spontaneity. You’d think this method would give a gritty realist look that would benefit Baise-Moi’s subject matter of prostitution, drug dealing and violence. However, in this instance, it seems to work in reverse - the gritty realistic feel only heightens the film’s overall cheapness to the point where the whole affair begins to look like an over edited porn film. Where other low budget films would seek to cover over the cracks in budget and effects, Baise-Moi does the exact opposite and revels in them, giving the viewer close ups of the extremely poor effects that have been applied to the victims of Nadine and Manu’s violent outbursts. Similar treatment is given to the film’s sex scenes, as the camera voyeuristically forces its way in, so as not to miss any of the action. This stylistic choice is of little surprise when considering the co-directors’ body of work, most of, which includes hardcore pornography, and the director’s limited work behind the camera.
The performances by Karen Lancaume (Nadine) and Raffaëla Anderson (Manu) are somewhat flat and uninspiring. Both actresses fail to deliver an adequate reflection of what these two characters have actually been through. However, the film offers neither of the characters a chance for reflection or real contemplation; they simply have bad things done to them which then transforms them into sadistic nymphomaniac killers. We are not privy to their descent into what they later become. The end result of all of this is an over the top Thelma & Louise, albeit lacking any skill or emotion, and therefore any empathy from the viewer.
Baise-Moi’s handling of Manu and her drug-addicated friend’s rape is perhaps the lowest point of the film. Again the filmmakers have used a heavy-handed voyeuristic point of view, unflinching as it watches the two helpless women being abused by their gang of male captors. The viewer is spared no details, and is forced to watch one grisly act after the next. Manu is reserved to her fate, and is stone faced to her captors not willing to show any sign of them breaking her spirit, whilst her friend sobs uncontrollably. This whole scene simply works as a plot device to get Manu to kill and steal, no ramifications, emotionally or physically, are ever referenced, save that Manu is angry. This is no way for rape to be depicted, especially given the vivid detail in which it is shown, and it is made worse with the knowledge that the actress herself was the victim of a similar crime.
The soundtrack to Baise-Moi reverts back to the filmmakers’ history in pornography. Music usually plays over scenes of sex or violence, and often times seem inappropriate or irritating. This results in yet more emotionally devoid scenes which look more like an explicit music video then a scene from a feature film.
A difficult film to watch, it lacks depth and emotion, and delivers nothing intelligent or thought provoking. An exercise in how much sex and violence can be put on screen in 73 minutes. One to be missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment