Frustrated by the lack of intimacy in her relationship, a young schoolteacher goes through a series of intimidating and often violent sexual partners.
Direction
Breillat's clinical gaze refuses to let you enjoy anything.
Acting
Ducey's fearless performance — actual porn star Siffredi couldn't shake her.
Director
Catherine Breillat
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Rocco Siffredi was Europe's biggest male porn star; Breillat cast him specifically to de-eroticize his image.
The film's 1999 release with an R-rating in France sparked international debate about whether explicit sex could be 'art' rather than pornography — Breillat's answer is essentially 'why not both, and neither'.
FR
