Bitter Moon (1992)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Gérard Brach (screenplay)
John Brownjohn (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 March 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

British couple Fiona and Nigel Dobson are sailing to Istanbul en route to India. They encounter a beautiful French woman...

Plot Keywords:

Abuse | Wheelchair | Paris | Accident | Sex

Cast

Hugh Grant	...	Nigel
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Fiona
Emmanuelle Seigner	...	Mimi
Peter Coyote	...	Oscar
Victor Banerjee	...	Mr. Singh
Sophie Patel	...	Amrita Singh
Patrick Albenque	...	Steward
Smilja Mihailovitch	...	Bridge Player
Leo Eckmann	...	Bridge Player
Luca Vellani	...	Dado
Richard Dieux	...	Partygoer
Danny Wuyts	...	Bandleader (as Danny Garcy)
Daniel Dhubert	...	Bus Inspector
Nathalie Galán	...	Girl in Boutique (as Nathalie Galan)
Eric Gonzales	...	Cook

Also Known As:

Lunes de fiel (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for the strong depiction of a perverse sexual relationship.

Runtime:

139 min | Argentina:119 min

Country:

France | UK | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Brazil:14 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Mexico:C | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Paris Studios Cinéma, Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

Large selections of Peter Coyote's wardrobe were supplied by Parisian luxury clothing company Cerruti 1881.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene when Mimi cuts her hair for the first time and bakes a Turkey for Oscar, he is wearing the same turtle necked blue sweater that was ripped off with a razor blade during a previous sex game.

Quotes:

Oscar: She came to see me when I got out of Intensive Care. She said, there's bad news and there's good news. You're paralyzed from the waist down - permanently. OK, I said, let's have the good news. That was the good news, she said. The bad news is that from now on, I'm taking care of you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "100 höjdare: Sveriges skönaste människor: Norrland (#4.4)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Katia Flavia A Godiva Do Iraja

Entrancing, mesmeric and serpentine

The film begins with the camera focused on the sea and the waves, and the music with the piano playing to good effect, then an increasingly enlarging zooming shot of a porthole. Then to the cruise liner where the four main characters are based. It is a story narrated and told by Oscar, played by Peter Coyote, who is wheelchair-bound, to Nigel, played by Hugh Grant, a man he meets on the cruise. Nigel is intrigued by an entwining and serpentine tale Oscar tells him, and so are we, and even though it starts to sound incredulous, he has to return to Oscar's quarters to hear more. The tale is so engrossing because it concerns Oscar's beautiful, sultry and seductive wife, Mimi, played mesmerisingly by Emmanuelle Seigner. Oscar is entranced at first with her and delves into all kinds of sexual games, then his passion for her begins to subside and he rejects her and leaves her alone on a plane. All the while Nigel's wife (Kristin Scott-Thomas) is becoming disillusioned with Nigel's fascination with Mimi and Oscar. I do not want to unveil anymore, just to implore you to watch this film and let it mesmerise you, like it did me. I felt as though I had to keep watching and somehow I did not want to leave and let go of it until the end.