Rape Me (2000)
"Baise-moi" (original title)

Two young women, marginalised by society, go on a destructive tour of sex and violence. Breaking norms and killing men - and shattering the complacency of polite cinema audiences.

Directors:

Virginie Despentes, Coralie

Writers:

Virginie Despentes (screenplay), Coralie (screenplay),

Stars:

Karen Lancaume, Raffaëla Anderson, Céline Beugnot

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karen Lancaume	...	Nadine (as Karen Bach)
Raffaëla Anderson	...	Manu
Céline Beugnot	...	La blonde au billard
Adama Niane	...	Le garçon au billard
Christophe Claudy Landry	...	Le mec au comptoir
Tewfik Saad	...	Le serveur bar
Delphine McCarty	...	La colocataire (as Delphine Mc Carty)
Ouassini Embarek	...	Radouan
Patrick Kodjo Topou	...	Wanted (as Patrick-Kodjo Topou)
Simon Nahoum	...	Su copain
Karim Chala	...	Su copain
Lisa Marshall	...	La copine de Manu
Hacène Beddrouh	...	La frère de Manu
Patrick Eudeline	...	Francis
Ian Scott	...	Mec 1 viol

Storyline

Manu and Nadine lose their last tenuous relationship with main-stream society when Manu gets raped and Nadine sees her only friend being shot. After a chance encounter, they embark on an explosive journey of sex and murder. Perhaps as a revenge against men, perhaps as a revolt against bourgeois society, but certainly in a negation - almost joyful in its senseless violence - of all the codes of a society which has excluded, raped and humiliated them. Controversial for its violence and real sex scenes: a vividly nihilist road movie set in France.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | violence | revenge | friend | killing | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [uk]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

28 June 2000 (France)

Also Known As:

Rape Me

Filming Locations:

Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$11,199 (USA) (29 September 2000)

Gross:

ESP 16,910,722 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Pan Européenne Production, Take One

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The stars and a director are adult film stars.

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Quotes

Rapist #1: Shit! It's like fucking a zombie!
Manu: What's that between your legs, asshole?
Rapist #1: Forget it bitch!

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Connections

References La Femme Nikita (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Goddamn City"
Written and Performed by Seven Hate
With kind permission from Vicious Circle and Kwark Publishing
(P) Pan-Européenne Musique
©2000 Pan-Européenne Musique

User Reviews

Coarse and Crude: the Film as Well as Its Subjects

I first saw a poster advertising this film on a street in Helsinki, Finland in June of 2000. What caught my attention was the proud proclamation advising all readers that the movie, although itself French, had been "Banned in France". Upon returning home to New York, I discovered that one of the "Art House" movie theaters in the City was screening the film, and so (with my Finnish fiancee) decided to see what all the fuss was about. Boy, did we ever.

From the comments read here, and the reviews I knew the movie was violent and sexually explicit. Not necessarily offended by either of these two conditions, I went with an open mind to see what had perturbed the sensibilities of our Gallic cousins. Presumably, as anyone who is reading this will know, the story involves two women who embark on a crime and murder spree in France (the movie has English subtitles). The resemblance to "Thelma and Louise" however, ends with that; the sex is unusually graphic (and in copious supply) as is the violence (a lot of stomping to death, and a lot of blood and other organic matter splattering after bullet impact).

On an intellectual level, one could make the case that the film's very essence is the relationship of sex and violence (as manifested by the only sex these women know: one is a small-time prostitute, and the other has earned money from time to time by performing in pornographic films. When they, during their descent into crime and murder, have the upper hand over their sexual situations, they react only with the same violence and brutality that they themselves know and understand. It is important to note, however, that the victims of their rampage are not only creepy men interested in creepy sex, (of which there are several)but innocent passersby, a woman at an ATM, for example, as well.

I myself do not really understand why the repeated "porn-movie" shots were all that necessary, (except to depict the physical contact as cruel, unpassionate and debased) and the unrelenting gore did get rather tedious after the first few violent spasms.

It is a coarse and crude movie, but in fairness, it is dealing with coarse and crude people and equally unpleasant circumstances. From one point of view, the lives of the French underclasses is explored, and it's pretty grim; a travelogue for France it definitely is not- perhaps that's why the French banned it.