Black Venus (Venus Noire)

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Movie Info

A woman turned into a sideshow attraction by those who imagine themselves her superiors struggles to maintain her dignity in this drama based on a true story. Sarah "Saartjie" Baartma (Yahima Torres) was born in South Africa but found a certain fame in Europe in the first decades of the 19th century, as she was exhibited like a sideshow attraction by Hendrick Caezar (Andre Jacobs), who billed her as "The Hottentot Venus" and encouraged audiences to view her as part human, part animal. Baartma performed like a trained animal under Caezar's direction, and sometimes she was required to appear nude before the crowds as spectators were allowed to touch her buttocks and genitals. When reporters condemn Caezar's exploitation of Baartma, she declares in court that she's acting of her own free will, but she's hesitant to explain why she allows herself to be treated so poorly. When Baartma's partnership with Caezar comes to an end, she finds herself working with a French showman, Reaux (Olivier Gourmet), who is even less scrupulous as he parades her before slumming French aristocrats, and later she is at the mercy of Georges Cuvier (Francois Marthouret), a scientist who uses her as part of his vile experiments in hopes of proving Africans are racially inferior. Written and directed Abdellatif Kechiche, Venus Noire (aka Black Venus) received its North American premiere at the 2010 New York Film Festival.

Rating:

PG-13
Genre:

Art House & International, Drama
Directed By:

Abdel Kechiche, Abdellatif Kechiche
On Disc/Streaming:

Aug 23, 2011
Runtime:

159 minutes
Studio:

Unknown

Cast

Yaima Torres
as Saartjie Baartman

Yahima Torres
as Saartjie Baartman

Andre Jacobs
as Hendrick Caezar

Olivier Gourmet
as Réaux

Elina Löwensohn

Jonathan Pienaar

François Marthouret

Jean-Christophe Bouvet
as Charles Mercailler, le journaliste

Olivier Loustau
as Le hussard

View All

Critic Reviews for Black Venus (Venus Noire)

All Critics (5) | Fresh (5)

Tunisian born...director Abdellatif Kechiche ("The Secret of the Grain") has been making films about the immigrant experience in his adopted France, all involving theatricality of one form or another.

June 30, 2012 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews
It may not cover any new ground (we've seen this all before in The Elephant Man and even King Kong...), but Black Venus certainly gives the audience more than enough time to ponder the larger questions it raises.

August 17, 2011 | Rating: 3/5

Simon Miraudo
Quickflix
Quote not available.

August 13, 2011 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Thomas Caldwell
Cinema Autopsy
full review at Movies for the Masses

April 13, 2011 | Rating: 4.5/5 | Full Review…

Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
Voyeuristic and powerful

March 13, 2011 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com

View All Critic Reviews (5)

Audience Reviews for Black Venus (Venus Noire)

Mar 16, 2016

A devastating and emotionally exhausting film that exposes without concessions (almost like a documentary and with the use of extreme close-ups) the real-life suffering of a poor woman brutally exploited, humiliated and treated like an animal for other people's pleasure.

Carlos M Super Reviewer
Jun 18, 2011

'Black Venus'. Based on the story of Sarah Baartman, whose body was sickeningly, and continuously exploited by all the men in her life at the turn of the 19th century. Confronting, saddening, very difficult to watch at times, with an astounding lead performance. Did run a little too long though.

c0up Super Reviewer