Baise-moi

I've read a lot of the comments for this movie and think that many of you have missed the point. The directors claim this to be a movie about friendship - and that the bonds of that relationship have nothing to do with the circumstances from which they are born. I'm somewhat sceptical about that. If you just wanted to make a movie about friendship, it could be about nuns. Or puppies. Or just about anything. But Baise-moi (which translates as Shag Me, not F**k Me) serves to highlight very clearly the moral hypocrisy that surrounds cinema, and has done ever since the days of the Hayes Code. The irony here lies in the fact that it is the explicit sex that caused the film to be banned in so many territories. No one has a problem with the violence. Sure, the violence might be simulated, and the sex isn't - but they both occupy the same space on the screen. And while it's legal to have sex in the privacy of your home, the violence depicted could never be legal. After all, you can see worse violence in Freddy vs. Jason, and more explicit sex on any porn video you might choose, so what is it about the combination that riles people so? I'll concede that the film is flawed, and demonstrates the debutant directors lack of experience, but for the challenge it sets to our jaded set of morals in the west, it should be applauded.

I've seen "Baise-Moi" on DVD several weeks ago. The movie made also a short run in Adult Theaters here in México City as "Viólame!" but I don't think it scored high. I enjoy a "pretty strong stomach" and, with the years passing by, I became more open-minded and tolerant (thank God something good comes also with the aging process...). The movie contains a graphic rape sequence, a few more explicit sex scenes and "tons" of gore and violence, without being able to deliver a message. Perhaps it was supposed to be just a provocative movie but, the violence in particular, remains almost unexplained and gratuitous and, therefore, it can only be considered pure exploitation. Graphic depiction of violence and sex in movies absolutely don't offend me (on the contrary, if well done and essential to the plot, I surely like it), but I wasn't very impressed by this one. I mostly agreed with the comment posted on IMDb so, I didn't feel any interests in posting another comment, since there was not much else I could say. However, last week, I heard on the radio, while listening to a variety program which deals with music and movies, that on January 28th, Karen Lancaume aka Karen Bach, "Nadine", one of the two main characters of this movie, took her own life at age 31. A suicide news note is always a sad note but the suicide of a person who has gained certain notoriety, usually (and unfortunately) stirs-up a process of exploitation based on bad publicity and I wouldn't be surprised at all, if the movie would make another run in theaters and the sales of the DVD would benefit of an important boost. How sad! Poor "exploited" Karen; she surely was a pretty lady and perhaps even a fine person but, at age 31, in spite of being still a young woman, she already passed "prime-time" which for an "Adult Movie Star" (that's what she was whit 28 porn-vids and one main-stream movie, also classified as porn, in her résumé), is just about around that age. The porn industry system is allegedly very cruel and burns-up those girls, who decide to go for it, very quickly. The competition of new young "hungry" starlets perhaps became unbeatable and unbearable for her or else... We shall never know why she did it; we can only guess she was profoundly unhappy and severely depressed. I wish (and I hope I'm not the only one), she has now finally found the peace and happiness she couldn't find in life. Karen: "REQUIESCAT IN PACEM"!

I first saw a poster advertising this film on a street in Helsinki, Finland in June of 2000. What caught my attention was the proud proclamation advising all readers that the movie, although itself French, had been "Banned in France". Upon returning home to New York, I discovered that one of the "Art House" movie theaters in the City was screening the film, and so (with my Finnish fiancee) decided to see what all the fuss was about. Boy, did we ever.

From the comments read here, and the reviews I knew the movie was violent and sexually explicit. Not necessarily offended by either of these two conditions, I went with an open mind to see what had perturbed the sensibilities of our Gallic cousins. Presumably, as anyone who is reading this will know, the story involves two women who embark on a crime and murder spree in France (the movie has English subtitles). The resemblance to "Thelma and Louise" however, ends with that; the sex is unusually graphic (and in copious supply) as is the violence (a lot of stomping to death, and a lot of blood and other organic matter splattering after bullet impact).

On an intellectual level, one could make the case that the film's very essence is the relationship of sex and violence (as manifested by the only sex these women know: one is a small-time prostitute, and the other has earned money from time to time by performing in pornographic films. When they, during their descent into crime and murder, have the upper hand over their sexual situations, they react only with the same violence and brutality that they themselves know and understand. It is important to note, however, that the victims of their rampage are not only creepy men interested in creepy sex, (of which there are several)but innocent passersby, a woman at an ATM, for example, as well.

I myself do not really understand why the repeated "porn-movie" shots were all that necessary, (except to depict the physical contact as cruel, unpassionate and debased) and the unrelenting gore did get rather tedious after the first few violent spasms.

It is a coarse and crude movie, but in fairness, it is dealing with coarse and crude people and equally unpleasant circumstances. From one point of view, the lives of the French underclasses is explored, and it's pretty grim; a travelogue for France it definitely is not- perhaps that's why the French banned it.

Maybe it's because I live in Holland and have a very open mind to sex, drugs and well, maybe not to murder but I was not that shocked.

Of course the rape scene was a bit hard and did not leave much to your imagination, but the rest.... Me and my girlfriend were just entertained by the rest of the movie.

I just read some other 20 user comments and I was in fact shocked by those. Prudish americans and british telling you that it is shocking and garbage and so on. A 5.0 average makes also clear that most of the people are still filled with tabboos.

Big erections and mindless sex.... so what? shooting people up there arse? surely I'd prefer that compared to what happens to the guy that rapes marsellus wallace in Pulp Fiction.

Indeed this was a low budget movie and the camerawork was perhaps of poor quality but it suits the pic. As a student indeed a search for reasons and meaning and I find it hihgly irritating that some people complain about things left unexplained. What are you? Can't you think and maybe even guess for yourselves? Does everything have to be explained?

We both liked it and surely I understand this is not a movie for everyone. I think more of it as an experimental piece of work, seek your own reasons for what they are doing, enjoy this wild ride and if you persist in having a monumentuous storyline, oscar performances and so on, and you are not specifically entertained by x rated sex, lots of blood and the socalled 'holes' in this story then....

Just don't watch this movie!!!!

The backside of the DVD or VHS gives plenty of clues that this is a controversial movie and when you have an open mind and like these kind of movies, i recommend it.

We give it a 7.0

Amidst all the controversy about the porno-style sex scenes, random acts of violence, liberal depictions of drug use and so on it seems the central question has been lost - is Baise-moi actually any good? Well, the answer is "No - not really."

It starts well enough, nicely setting up the two main characters with some very well-acted, almost documentary-like scenes. Well, I say nicely - the word seems hardly appropriate when these scenes include Manu and another woman suffering a genuinely harrowing rape while Karen prostitutes herself, along with a liberal smattering of general sex, violence and substance abuse. Nevertheless, the opening is well-played out and directed with surprising flair (especially considering that this is the debut movie for both its directors).

However, when the plot kicks in proper and the two women end up on the run together the film's interest begins to drop fast. Oddly, the further out of control the two protagonists get the less exciting the story is - it gradually becomes a mere retread of countless other low-grade revenge/exploitation movies, simply with a slightly more porno feel. By the denouement, to be brutally honest, I was bored stiff (a stiffness which is nothing to do with the pornographic element of the movie, I assure you).

One of the main problems is the inherent lack of any kind of point. The beginning of the movie seems to be setting the film up as an analysis of our responses to violence - of how an upbringing in a cruel and violent environment can manifest those tendencies in ourselves - and also as a commentary on the parallels and links between violence and the act of fornication. However, it completely fails to deliver on either of these promises in the second and third acts and, increasingly, one gets the feeling the film's only reason for being is that it thinks it is cool. Unfortunately for Baise-moi, it isn't. It's a wasted opportunity. It's only real use is as a shock tactic, but even this is wasted on anyone who's seen a porn film - the violence side of it is no worse than is seen in any number of straight-to-video action/thriller flicks.

Ultimately, all there is to recommend Baise-moi is a couple of impressive acting performances, a few amusing lines of dialogue and a thought-provoking 20 minutes at the start. The rest, sadly, is nothing to get excited about.