Baise-moi (2000) Reviews

• a sexual and violent experience....but a very nice one

  jeroenberndsen12003-09-14

  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

• Definitely not for everyone

  Reggie_Charan2003-11-03

  Don't be swayed by all the negative comments, Baise Moi is a worthwhile film. Yes the sex is explicit, and much of the violence simply pointless, but underneath it all remains a compelling vision of two people on a road trip to hell. Both leads may come from porn, but their acting skills are totally credible. One of the most nihilistic movies ever made.

• A thought provoking shocker...

  murphmeister752004-01-13

  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.

• Such a shame

  winkimation2005-03-03

  It always interests me that anyone can really call this porn. This is an interesting film, even if you think it's 'crap'. Why is it that all the men I know who've watched it, think it's crap? I teach this film as part of a course and without fail all male students thus far have said it's 'not porn' and the thing they most objected to was seeing 'grannies doin' it'. Could it be the fact that for once we actually see men's faces when they come that disturbs so much? What we never or rarely see in porn, is a male appearing vulnerable. In Baise-Moi this is explored. As is said above, yes the 'plot' may be virtually non-existent, but isn't that the case with most regurgitated mainstream films anyway? This film isn't about stimulating an audience sexually, be they male or female, indeed it is just as objectionable to women as it is to men. But I do believe that the reasons are different. The feedback I've received is that men are expecting to be aroused either through plot, character or scenes of a blatant sexual nature. Women are generally just intrigued and then often put off by the violence - by the women - that is often apparently unmotivated. We don't really see films where women are violent without 'good' cause, it's too disturbing and dispels too many myths that potentially undermine society, supposedly. Only just over a decade ago a film, which by comparison views like Bambi, was almost not made because it depicted 'female violence'. Thelma and Louise was viewed as a rather risky production. So I'm not surprised that Baise-Moi gets a slating. It may well be all those things that the above reviewer suggests, and indeed there are elements I agree with. But this is an important film, even if you watch it just to hate it. If you do hate it, all I ask is that you really think about why you hate it. If you want CGI, predictable narrative structure, drip-feed invisible editing, and to feel absorbed and immersed (I knock none of these things), then don't bother. If you're a thinking person who has an inquiring mind, give it a go.

• No Closing Your Eyes to Society's Injustice

  Nodriesrespect2007-09-28

  Why are people so outraged by BAISE-MOI (which literally means F**K ME, the English language title is a travesty) ? Is it because of the explicit sex (far more fleeting than that shown in any porno tape freely available at most corner video shops), the stylized ultra-violence or the combination of the two ? Unlike some films, this one doesn't in any way glorify violence though, it merely shows the sad inevitability of it as far as its two main characters are concerned. Both Nadine (Karen Lancaume aka Karen Bach) and Manu (Raffaella Anderson) routinely endure violation both in word and deed on an almost daily basis as sex workers, prostitute and part-time porno performer respectively. The gang rape of Manu and her drug-addicted friend shown here is totally different from the clichéd they-may-protest-at-first type of rape scene encountered in some adults only features. While the other girl cries and screams throughout (and is ever more horribly abused because of it), Manu adopts a facade of indifferent resignation, cleverly robbing her rapists of their sadistic thrill. Rest assured that the scene goes on a lot longer than anyone would want it to and that it is very painful to watch, which is the whole point of it. When Manu and Nadine meet and embark on their violent road trip, fully aware that they ultimately can't 'get away with it', sex becomes a source of liberation to them. Like so many guys on the lam in any criminal buddy movie you can think of, they take what they want, when and how they want it, casually discarding (not always violently) their casual partners post-orgasm. One of the most common accusations at porn's address is that the explicit sex scenes dehumanize the people performing them, but here that could not be further from the truth. Former hardcore actresses Lancaume and Anderson are both terrific in their parts and the sex they have (and, yes, it is 'real' sex) enhances their characterizations, rendering them more complete. The 'cinema vérité' rawness of the digital video format in which it was shot, interrupted by sudden flashes of style when violence erupts (an artistic decision to give the viewer a feel for the power and pleasure the women derive from their acts as an escape route from their drab lives), draws the viewer uncomfortably close to the action. Again, that seems to be the point. So don't let the negative publicity fool you. BAISE-MOI is a rare film that utterly achieves what it sets out to do and it bodes well for debut cinéastes Despentes (author of the sulfurous source novel) and ex-porn star Coralie. You may love it (as I obviously did) or you may hate it, but this is an important film that no one is likely to ever forget, no matter how hard they might try.