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The Pornographer (2001)
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Reviews Counted:11
Fresh:3
Rotten:8
Average Rating:4.3/10
Synopsis: Jean-Pierre Léaud stars as Jacques Laurent, a former pornographic filmmaker who returns to the industry in this hard-hitting drama from director Bertrand Bonello. Having enjoyed a 20 year hiatus... Jean-Pierre Léaud stars as Jacques Laurent, a former pornographic filmmaker who returns to the industry in this hard-hitting drama from director Bertrand Bonello. Having enjoyed a 20 year hiatus from the industry since the 1980s, Laurent finds that it has changed enormously since his halcyon days. Struggling to recapture his former passion-filled cinematic feasts of erotica, the reluctant director is forced to film hardcore scenes that eschew tender human emotions, and instead concentrate on raw, violent, and explicit sex. Meanwhile, he tries to patch up his relationship with estranged son Joseph (Jérémie Renier), who stopped speaking to his father after learning the nature of his business, but is now supportive of him as he tries to recapture the magic. A thoughtful film that tackles a number of pertinent issues, THE PORNOGRAPHER is a wonderful character study that tugs viewers into its world and doesn't let go until the final credits have rolled. [More]
Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jeremie Renier, Dominique Blanc
Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jeremie Renier, Dominique Blanc
Director: Bertrand Bonello
Director: Bertrand Bonello
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Reviews for The Pornographer
The scenes in which the porno films are being made stand out, but with a 108 minute sit and an awkward narrative it isn't even salvaged by calling it French cinema.
You wouldn't want to spend a mere 15 minutes with porn filmmaker Jacques Laurent ... and The Pornographer runs 106.
not just a study of how porn has degenerated from adult-oriented love stories to rank perversion, it's also a film about how the movies themselves have changed
Only fans of the most pretentious, dull French cinema will even remotely like this film.
I spent the first 30 minutes or so genuinely unsure about whether this film thought itself funny, willing it to favour knowing self-mockery, disappointed but not surprised when it plumped for high pretentiousness.
The theme of silent passivity runs throughout the film, so Bonello must have wanted to make some kind of statement with it. The effect is merely alienating.
The film seems to be intent on the subversion of what most people consider obscene or shocking. By all means, if you are most people, have a look. All others should catch a nap.
The Pornographer does to its theme precisely what pornography does to sex -- it isolates specific parts while ignoring the bigger picture and the larger meaning.
A cool, thoughtful character study, in which pornography can be read as a metaphor for the practice of film-making.
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