Romance (E)

‘Romance’ is a sexually explicit film that is more concerned with the psychological implications of sex than the physical act itself. Marie (Caroline Ducey), a young primary school teacher, is deeply disturbed by her narcissistic male model boyfriend’s behavior, who refuses to show her any kind of physical affection, much less make love to her. In an attempt to find a balance between the physical and emotional aspects of love, Marie embarks on a succession of brief encounters of the purely carnal kind with Paolo (played by Italian porn star Rocco Stiffredi), the ultimate latin lover, and Robert (Francois Berleand), an older man, who initiates her to S&M games. Although the film has its source in the French tradition of sexually charged writing that stretches from De Sade to de Beauvoir, Bataille, and Foucault, ‘Romance’ fast became a ‘success de scandale’ for its explicit showing of sex. The film was originally refused classification (ie: banned) in Australia by the Office of Film and Literature Classification for contravening the guidelines of an ‘R’ rating. This decision was later overturned by the Classification Review Board, thus re-igniting (albeit, briefly) the debate of censorship and public morality in Australia. Cast includes Thomas Sagamore Stevenin. In French with English subtitles.