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Romance (1999 film)

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Romance
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCatherine Breillat
Written byCatherine Breillat
Produced byJean-François Lepetit
Starring
CinematographyYorgos Arvanitis
Edited byAgnès Guillemot
Music by
  • Raphaël Tidas
  • DJ Valentin
Distributed byRézo Films
Release date
  • 17 April 1999 (1999-04-17) (France)
Running time
99 minutes[1]
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Budget$2.7 million
Box office$3.9 million[2]

Romance (Romance X) is a 1999 French arthouse film written and directed by Catherine Breillat. It stars Caroline Ducey, Rocco Siffredi, Sagamore Stévenin and François Berléand. The film features explicit copulation scenes,[3] especially one showing Ducey's coitus with Siffredi.

Plot

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Marie, a school teacher, is in a romantic relationship with Paul, but she is disappointed in his comparative lack of interest in sexual activity. One morning, Marie drives to a bar, where she meets Paolo; the two later have sex.

One day, Roberto, the headmaster, brings Marie to her house. The two begin engaging in BDSM until Marie asks him to stop, though she confesses to have imagined what it's like to be bound and implies that she enjoyed being gagged. On the way home, a man rapes Marie in the stairway; he leaves right as Paul returns, but the latter does not see her.

Upon returning home after a session with Roberto, Paul demonstrates interest in sex and manages to accidentally impregnate Marie. After one checkup during which the doctor reveals the baby's gender, the couple have sex for the first time in months – but also last.

After an unhappy night out in a bar, Marie wakes up about to go into labor but Paul is out cold. Frustrated, she turns on the gas and leaves, with Roberto driving her to the hospital. She successfully delivers the child and as expected, Paul dies in the gas explosion. As his coffin is being lowered into the ground, Marie watches from a distance, the baby in her arms.

Cast

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Production

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In an interview with The Post, Catherine Breillat appeared to confirm the rumors of actual on-set sex. "An actor never pretends," she said. "At the same time, I'm not perverse. I don't impose on my actors or actresses any more than is absolutely necessary. But I don't pretend. I don't simulate. The deal was, we'd go as far as we had to, as far as the film required."[4] Caroline Ducey accepted the part of Marie knowing that 'going all the way' was written into her contract. Apparently, Ducey began the film thinking that it would also be an exit from the sexual relationship she was in, but then decided while it was being made that she wanted to stay with her boyfriend. By the end, she was in a state of considerable distress. [5]

In August 2024, Caroline Ducey said she was raped while filming this movie and that she held Catherine Breillat responsible for it. The issue was about the sex scenes, which Breillat wanted to be unsimulated, even though Ducey's contract did not call for it. Breillat responded to the allegations, saying that Ducey had agreed to the unsimulated scenes, but because they were not in her contract, she was free not to film them.[6]

Release and classification

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In Europe, Romance was released mainstream; in the United States, it was reduced to a mainstream-acceptable R rating, and the European original version is unrated. In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification passed the film uncut for cinemas, though home releases suffered a brief cut to an ejaculation shot.

In March 2004, the original version was broadcast on late-night German public television. In Australia, the original version was broadcast uncut on cable television network World Movies.[citation needed] Although initially refused classification, it was eventually awarded an R18+ on appeal.[7] It singlehandedly paved the way for actual sex to be accommodated in the R18+ classification in Australia.[7]

In Canada, particularly in Alberta and the Maritimes, the film's explicit sexual content was seen as gratuitous and it was given an A rating and XXX rating in those regions.[8][9] In June 2008, in the Netherlands, the original version was broadcast on Dutch public TV by VPRO as one of a series of Erotica arthouse cinema.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Romance (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 19 July 1999. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Romance (1999)". JPBox-Office.
  3. ^ Gillain, Anne (2003). "Beyond French Feminisms: Debates on Women, Culture and Politics in France 1980-2001". In Célestin, Roger; et al. (eds.). Profile of a Filmmaker: Catherine Breillat. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 202. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-09514-5_19. ISBN 978-0-312-24040-0. Catherine Breillat's "film Romance had received much praise—and criticism—the previous year for using a porn-film actor and a scene showing a nonsimulated sexual act, including a shot of an erection in the foreground.
  4. ^ Musetto, V.A. (18 September 1999). "A real 'Romance'? : This French flick'S graphic sex scenes aren't just acting, director says". New York Post. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Coming soon to a cinema near you". The Guardian. 3 October 1999. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Caroline Ducey affirme avoir été violée sur le tournage du film Romance, et accuse Catherine Breillat d'en être responsable". voici.fr (in French). 30 August 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Romance (1999)". Refused-Classification.com. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  8. ^ "Film classification listing for Romance". Alberta Film Ratings (Enter title Romance).
  9. ^ "Film classification listing for Romance". Maritime Film Classification Board (Enter title Romance). 6 July 2018.

Sources

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