Maîtresse

The big virtue of this movie is that it is a real movie, with a real story and a reasonable plot, with remarkable actors, which gives a nice introduction to some BDSM practices and lifestyle in quite a credible movie.

I really recommend it if you want to raise the topic of BDSM with someone...

Before I saw this film I was warned that the film contains quite a few explicit sexual ideas and images but I have to say that I found the film to be a beautiful romantic .It isn't a conventional romance ,rather extreme if I dare to say,but nevertheless you can easily identify yourself with some of the scenes.Me personally would categorise this film as an Atmospheric Romantic.quite self-explanatory!

Maîtresse is a typical story of seduction and obsession. The dialog is in French with subtitles. Without an unusual or groundbreaking plot, and not presented as a grand film, it was filmed in the popular style of French films of the time, many of which enjoy enduring popularity today because of their minimalist execution. It simply presents a story in an unpretentious format. It is not too sexually explicit visually, though the theme definitely is.

The director, Barbet Schroder, has evolved into one of the incredible directors of our time. His life is probably more interesting even than most of his fictional characters, and his other films are a short list of some of my favorites.

There is really only one noteworthy element of the film, and it is quite noteworthy. The central character, Ariane (Bulle Ogier), who is reminiscent of Catherine Deneuve, is quite seductive as a dominatrix who avails herself of a fetishist's dream chamber complete with a wardrobe that most people would not believe could have possibly existed when the film was made in 1973. It is the fantastic surprise of the film, and the character is easily 20 years ahead of her time.

Anyone into edgy fashion today would be well advised to enjoy viewing this film and accept a humbling lesson concerning underground esthetic's that existed some 30 years ago. Indeed, this film alone may have helped to popularize modern fetishist, "sadist" or bondage sensibilities, especially in France.

An interesting and odd film, decidedly kinky, and with an ending that makes a brief but incredible prediction of the work, "Crash" by J.G. Ballard, written soon after the film was released- or perhaps coincidentally.

I must have previously only seen the cut version of this and that version with some six minutes missing, clearly would have had some of its 'sting' removed. The complete film starts intriguingly enough with a young Gerard Depardieu playing amateur cat burglar with his loser pal when they stumble upon they know not what. Bulle Ogier, as the 'Maitresse' of the title soon gets rid of the loser and draws a starry eyed Depardieu into her lair. Apparently actual Parisian masochists were recruited (some say they even paid the film makers) into playing the roles we see enacted before our very eyes. Ogier is stunning in her Lagerfeld costumes and conducts her creatures most realistically while Depardieu seems to slip into the role of assistant (and lover), whipping and slapping like a real pro. This is astonishing stuff with very good dialogue and a sure hand on the directorship by Barbet Schroeder. I have to say that one scene was awesomely jaw dropping whilst another had me wincing and disappearing to the back of my chair. Having recently watched the director's, More and The Valley, this makes a sensational trio of unique films that deserve a much larger audience.

MAÎTRESSE (1973) **** Gérard Depardieu, Bulle Ogier, André Rouyer, Nathalie Keryan. In this Barbet Schroeder film, Olivier (Depardieu) burglarizes the apartment of a dominatrix named Ariane (Ogier). After Ariane catches him in the act, the two fall in love and Olivier struggles to accept his girlfriend's bizarre profession. In the uncut version, some of the torture scenes (which were purportedly filmed using real-life "slaves" of a real-life dominatrix) are truly painful to watch, and are undoubtedly some of the most shocking ever to appear in a non-pornographic movie. Which leads one to ask: Is Maîtresse an artsy exploitation flick disguised as a love story, or simply a love story that makes legitimate use of graphic (and violent) sexual imagery? Either way, the film is moving, provocative and impossible to forget. Highly recommended.