Anatomy Of Hell (Anatomie de l'enfer)

While I was watching the flick, "Anatomy of Hell", words kept popping into my brain. Here they are: Deep Erotic Compelling Profound Adult Intellectual Intriguing Exquisite ...and that was just the first 20 minutes!!! Directed by Frenchwoman Catherine Breillat, this film is definitely "one of a kind". It makes "9 1/2 Weeks" look like "Bambi". Anatomy of Hell is candid, cruel, cold, warm and stunning. There is nothing predictable about it. From one scene (let alone sentence) to another you haven't a clue as to what is going to transpire next. The script is sobering and blunt. Here's a sample" "That's what men can't stand. It's why they've tried to lock women up, in all eras, all places, under every latitude. To protect us from ourselves, they say. To break the spell of women. In fact...they're afraid women don't belong to them. They don't believe in basic freedom. They threaten us with belts, padlocks, their concept of chastity, their foolish morals, since they always need reassurances. Yet they know one can't ask for proof. Or else love has no meaning." Anatomy of Hell has no boundaries. It is shocking, riveting and stunning. It's the story of a man discovering what women are made of. It is not for the faint or weak. It is a no-holds-barred drama that is borderline "X", but is tasteful and romantic to the point where it should likely be a double "R" or an NC-17. I recommend it to all loving couples...single or married. I was impressed. Ms. Breillat has caught the male species with his pants down in this one. She hits it (them) right on the head. If you like movies that unfold relationships from ground zero to the sky is the limit, this one is for you. It's a solid 10 in this genre...nothing short of brilliance. Who said women can't direct? This one is one of the finest foreign films I have ever seen. Don't miss it (if you can find it).

This is, to me, Breillat's best movie. The subject matter of the movie has been delved in by others, so I won't waste time on it. A generic woman finds a gay man, to observe her and explore the perception that men have of women. During the course of four nights, the perception is dissected, and examined. The woman expresses, nude, before this male that is not attracted to her, her deepest concepts of the battle of the sexes. He in turn, although by definition not attracted to women, observes, comments and indulges. In the end, as in most of Breillat's movies, the questions are left for the viewer to answer, and also to ask. The actress, Amira Casar is a beauty, and we see a lot of her. The acting is tightly done, and if appears stilted, it is because the situation is in itself stilted. You will need a stong stomach to watch the whole movie, since there is a particularly revolting scene, but even that scene, fits with the story, and with the desire of the woman to be totally exposed, totally vulnerable and totally degraded. I have watched some of Breillat's work (A real young girl, Romance) and to me, this is the deepest, most thought provoking of her movies. As opposed to the previously mentioned ones, that I watched once and resold, or gave away, I shall keep this one, and will probably watch it again, more than once, to dissect it further. The DVD has an interview with the director, and there we find out why a body double was used for the close-up shots: She wanted a hairy person

Anatomy of Hell - a metaphorical reference to the nether realm, is, if I'm not wrong, Briellat's adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's famous quote "Hell is the Other". The film makes a rather stilted commentary centred around the notion of the Other, and of how as the Subject, we are desperate, if not phenomenally suicidal, to constantly yearn for the look of the Other to reflect upon our physical selves which we cannot escape, which is both a necessary "evil" and self-sustaining as it is tormenting and perpetually unfulfilled. Breillat is only excused by the highly symbolic, theatrical style of the film with a disclaimer that relinquishes the reality of the characters portrayed. The choice of Siffredi as the male lead couldn't have been more surprising - few mainstream actors would have gone to the extent of no-bars-held in displaying their endowment aroused - close-up and in full glory. Siffredi's portfolio wouldn't stifle audiences more familiar with his pornographic work to boredom; his role in the film is highly restrained in the emotional sense, and there is a certain heightened sense of eroticism that goes with it. Amira on the other hand, plays a dejected Venus fallen from adoration - bordering on the inane and desperately seeking ways to turn the most quietly staunched of misogynists to reconsider sexuality in all its face value. Unfortunately for all the philosophical postulations, the film is led more by the attempts to revolt and to shock, rather than to make a genuine attempt at examining the relations between the sexes. The man played by Siffredi could have not engaged in torrid sex with the woman - but the film would have lost its focus and the entire point that resolves in mutual sexual gratification, so that in the end, the entire film is more of an arthouse porn than art. Fans and non-fans of Siffredi alike, this DVD is a collectable tribute to him in his prime.

this was one terrible sadistic movie light SM porn worst movie

This movie is a sexual holocaust, but I'm still a believer that such rites of dehumanization do have a place in modern cinema. Someone had to do it, and the fact that it is directed by a woman gives her free license to obliterate the preconceptions of femininity and its plethora of powers and weaknesses. It paints a stark picture of the behavioral patterns which we're forced to adhere to in our day-to-day lives and attacks them in a very blunt fashion. I love it. It's confronting and unrelenting. The French have always known how to gut their audience, and this movie is something I look upon as a challenge. Initially I was set on edge, and its unrelenting subject matter and subsequent exploration of the anatomical mechanisms of sexuality is something which I found to challenge my previous views in many ways. Amira Caser is immaculate in her role, her simple facial expressions portray the complexities of the vulnerable state she allows herself to be placed in throughout the most confronting scenes, with simple and subtle gestures of fear and excitement showing glimpses for all those who choose to absorb this film fully. Perhaps the fact that this movie stars prominent porn actor Rocco could taint its subject to the general audience, but the role he fills demands than he be comfortable and confident in his expression of explicit sexual materials and for this reason I believe he is perfectly suited for the part, and really not a bad actor at the end of the day. My conclusion is that this film is more challenging and abrasive than any horror you've yet seen, and it takes a stronger being who is prepared to explore this topic brutally, without having it painted in a soft light, and for its honesty I must give it full credit.

too hyped up. garbage film! artsy and pretentious. too much ado about nothing. really. what a brilliant waste of time.

UNE HORREUR ! glauque et pertubant ! angoissant ! immoral ! un film à ne pas regarder ! meme honte de revendre le mien je l'ai jeté

Je n'ai rien compris au scénario de ce film. Que vient faire Rocco Siffredi dans ce boulgui-boulga ? Même la photo, blanchâtre, est repoussante. Mauvais achat pour moi.

One of the worst films I ever seen. Silly in the extreme. Too long at 77 minutes. Catherine Breillat has made some interesting films but this is not one of them