Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Virginie Despentes, Coralie Trinh Thi
Stars: Karen Bach, Raffaela Anderson
Two angry, man-hating young women embark on a cross country killing spree in this confronting new film best described as a Gallic version of Thelma And Louise, or even Natural Born Killers, albeit with heaps of attitude. This confronting film has been banned in some 23 countries, and has caused controversy virtually everywhere it has screened for its hard-hitting combination of explicit sex and graphic, gratuitous and vicious violence. Some have argued that the film’s themes are important as it deals with the empowerment of women, and that the sex and violence should be seen in this context!
Nadine (Karen Bach) is a prostitute desperate to escape her bleak lifestyle, while Manu (Raffaela Anderson) is a rape victim anxious for revenge. The pair meet one night after each has committed a murder, and embark on a sex and shooting spree that is explicit, graphic, uncomfortable and disturbing to watch.
With Baise Moi film makers Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi certainly push the boundaries, although I’m not sure that where they take us is a place that contemporary cinema really needs to go. Shot in a sparse rudimentary style on digital video this low budget film has production values reminiscent of the director’s previous work in hard core porn. The two stars also hail from a similar background, which is reflected in their uninhibited performances.
Baise Moi is an intense and disturbing experience, and it is also quite unpleasant and leaves a nasty aftertaste. It also has a savagery and rawness to it that is confronting, and makes the early efforts of Peckinpah, Tarantino and Scorsese seem positively restrained by comparison!
★☆
