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Baise-moi (Kiss me)

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Two young women, marginalised (and for one of them, raped) by society, go on a destructive tour of sex and violence. Breaking norms and killing men - and shattering the complacency of polite cinema audiences.

Persons of interest

Karen Lancaume .... Nadine
Raffaëla Anderson .... Manu
Céline Beugnot .... Blonde at Billiards
Adama Niane .... Boy at Billiards
Christophe Claudy Landry .... Guy at Counter
Tewfik Saad .... Server
Delphine MacCarty .... Severine
Ouassini Embarek .... Radouan
Patrick Kodjo Topou .... Big Thug
Lisa Marshall .... Karla
Hacène Beddrouh .... Lakim
Patrick Eudeline .... Francis
Virginie Despentes .... Author
Coralie Trinh Thi .... Screenwriter
Virginie Despentes .... Screenwriter
Coralie Trinh Thi .... Director
Virginie Despentes .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Awards and film festivals:

Cinematic Intelligence Agency Trenchcoat Awards 2003

NB: French language dialogue with English language subtitles
Studios and distributors:

Potential

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Is it art or is it porn? Or is it a marketing exercise? Who cares?

If you are into women taking control of their lives with a gun you'll be into Baise-moi. There's more (and more realistic) blood than From dusk till dawn, more guns than Dirty Harry and more sex than Mardi Gras. If you are into actual penises achieving actual penetration (no exchange of bodily fluids shown) both with and without condoms then it's got more Intimate relations than Intimacy. If you are into hot chicks with guns bonking boys on a sex/murder spree then it's got everything you want. If you are into deconstruction of the filmic art from a feminist perspective then it's got more paradigmatic syntagms than Sex: The Annabel Chong story.

Is it art or is it porn? Well it isn't porn because the actors don't just perform, they act. Ipso facto, Baise-moi is art. With porn in it. It's a film that uses pornography to make a statement. This film is all about statements. You might not get the message, but that doesn't mean that it isn't there.

Is it a marketing exercise? All films are marketing exercises, if not for the studios then for the writers, directors, actors and so forth, and art-porn is a great way to get yourself a name as an enfant terrible, especially in Europe where attitudes to sex are somewhat more relaxed than in Australia or Hollywood. You can bet your bottom Euro that the posters for Coralie Trinh Thi and/or Virginie Despentes' next film/s will include "From the controversial director of Baise-moi".

Who cares? Well, if you liked Thelma and Louise then you'll have a problem with Baise-moi. They explore the same territory (female friendship, the empowerment of women, rape, male betrayal, etc.) but the difference between them is the difference between ET: The extra-terrestrial and Alien. Or Hollywood and art.

Make your own decision.