Love Rites (1988)

Synopsis: Based on a novel by the French surrealist Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues-whose work was often adapted by Polish director Walerian Borowczyk--LOVE RITES was the director's last entry in his prolific,... Based on a novel by the French surrealist Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues-whose work was often adapted by Polish director Walerian Borowczyk--LOVE RITES was the director's last entry in his prolific, interdisciplinary oeuvre. Exhibiting the subtle horror and overt sensuality that characterized his work throughout his career, the story follows Hugo (Mathieu Cariere), an antiques dealer who encounters high-class prostitute Myriam (Marina Pierro) on the Paris metro, where she solicits her clients. Immediately enamored with her sultry charms, he follows her home to an apartment owned by an enigmatic, unknown woman. He has his way with Myriam, but soon finds that he is no longer in charge of the proceedings, as she assumes control of him, body, mind, and soul. The film is exemplary of the keen sensibility Borowczyk brought to everything he did, along with a willingness to transgress boundaries in ways that were previously unheard of. Though this caused him to be labeled a pornographer in many circles, Borowczyk's interests and aesthetic, like those of the similarly-minded Georges Bataille and the Surrealists, were deeply rooted in macabre, ritualistic perceptions of the erotic. The result was a complex, idiosyncratic visual language that drew upon the director's experience in painting and lithography as well as film, creating a distinctive catalogue of imagery that included insects, antiques, autumnal light, and class warfare. [More]

Starring: Mathieu Carriere, Marina Pierro, Josy Bernard

Starring: Mathieu Carriere, Marina Pierro, Josy Bernard

Director: Walerian Borowczyk

Director: Walerian Borowczyk

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