Rent Romance (1999)

2.6 of 5 from 146 ratings
1h 35min
Rent Romance Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
Shockingly explicit, blurring the lines between art and pornography, Catherine Breillat's critically acclaimed 'Romance' is one of the most controversial films of modern cinema. A young schoolteacher Marie (Caroline Ducey), frustrated by the lack of intimacy shown by her boyfriend Paul (Sagamore Stévenin), begins to look elsewhere for physical affection and embarks on a series of increasingly extreme sexual encounters.
Actors:
, , , , Reza Habouhossein, , Emma Colberti, Fabien de Jomaron, , , Antoine Amador, Roman Rouzier, Oliver Buchette, Emmanuelle N'Guyen, Nadia Latoui, Sylvie Drieu, Samuel Charter, Alexis Gignoux, Muriel Gregoire, Sebastien Jochmans
Directors:
Producers:
Jean-François Lepetit
Writers:
Catherine Breillat
Studio:
Bluelight
Genres:
Drama, Romance
Collections:
Female Filmmakers Who Changed French Cinema, Films by Genre, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1999
Countries:
France
BBFC:
Release Date:
Unknown
Run Time:
95 minutes
Languages:
French
Subtitles:
English
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.66:1
Colour:
Colour
BBFC:
Release Date:
15/07/2019
Run Time:
98 minutes
Languages:
French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French LPCM Stereo
Subtitles:
English
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.66:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Hard for Art's Sake: An Interview with Director Catherine Breillat
  • The Loneliness of the Young Relay Runner: An Interview with Actor Caroline Ducey
  • Getting the Picture: An Interview with Producer Jean-Francois Lepetit

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Reviews (2) of Romance

Average Sex Drama - Romance review by GI

Spoiler Alert
09/04/2021

This exploration of female sexuality and desire is a bit of a cold and uninteresting affair. Controversial for its graphic sex scenes they are the antipathy of the film's title but perhaps that's intentional. Marie (Caroline Ducey) is a young schoolteacher desperately in love with her boyfriend, Paul (Sagamore Stévenin) and they live together in their sterile apartment. Paul shuns intimacy and Marie is left feeling unwanted and yearning for sexual fulfilment which she explores in a series of encounters and fantasises. When at last Paul makes brief love to her she falls pregnant and this changes her resolve and the nature of her feelings for Paul. The need to push the boundary of what is cinematic depiction of sex and pornography clouds the theme of this film which would have been better in my view with a more restrained vision. What we have here is a quite unpleasant experience at times. As was proved with Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) and its tired sequels there is little to be gained by trying to be deliberately controversial and this earlier film confirms it. Romance has some admirable ideas around the mystery of female desire but sadly it doesn't do it any justice.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Unacceptable - Romance review by HPB

Spoiler Alert
28/11/2021

I'm male, and have see many films from Cinema paradiso, but rarely write reviews. So why do one for "Romance"?

First, I should explain I have no problem with sexually expicit films generally, but the sexuality needs to be integral to the story, as for example in The English Patient and Birdsong.

This is a film called Romance that hasn't a shred of romance in it. Also there's nothing that I'd call a story. It concerns a woman who has some form of neurosis related to sex. But her mental condition isn't explored or explained in any way. The film concerns only one thing: how the men who enter her life dominate her, mostly sexually. It is an unpalatable portayal of mysogeny. None of them express what most people would call love. They just act out their own sexual eccentricities or fantasies, subjecting her to what seems intolerably humiliating. The film makes no attempt to identify any reason why she would tolerate them (she's clearly not forced to by her economic circumstances). The whole film seems to me to be a dream world for the sort of men who imagine it's acceptable to contol a woman in a way that is degrading for her if not for them.

I'm aware that censorship is a tricky issue, but I have serious doubts as to whether Cinema Paradiso should have it on its list. The question for CP is whether this film crosses the line into low grade pornography. To my mind the fact that the director is a woman makes the whole thing even more incomprehensible.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

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