Saw another Catherine Breillat movie the other day: Romance. I highly recommend it. The sexual insights in the movie, and commentary, are quite interesting, and some quite accurate, I think. Furthermore, there are some scenes that I just adored. For one, her style includes scenes that you get to watch from beginning to end including all the mundane activities and silences that are a part of real life. In American films, too often silence is skipped over, or scenes filled with a soundtrack. Not so in Breillats work. Its much more like voyeurism into a life than a crafted film about one. Well, at least, more so than American movies. And the sexual activity is usually seen rather than alluded to. You never see this kind of overt sexuality in non-porn films, and its too bad. Theres one scene I really liked when the girlfriend is in bed with her boyfriend, holding his penis and playing with it, talking about how she likes its smell and I forget what else. But this is something intimates do together at times, the curious exploration of each others genitals, the penis play since we dont have them and since they move so interestingly and can be manipulated into positions while flaccidall intriguing and fun bed-play. I think its a scene couples can really relate to, but that American censorship and decency laws wont allow to be shown. We are missing out. Some great scenes too with the girlfriend and a man who ties her up in different bondage positions. Theres one that looks quite lovely, which is a strange thing to hear myself thinking. Anyway, there are moments when she is gagged, and he is silent, tying her limbs with white rope, and the sound quality is great you can here some breathing, but mostly just the rope sliding, being pulled, tied, maneuvered. Its really riveting
