Sex Is Comedy (2002)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Writer:

Catherine Breillat (writer)

Release Date:

5 June 2002 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A director struggles to film a difficult, intimate sex scene between two actors who happen to hate each other.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Sex Scene | Director | Film Set | Male Frontal Nudity

Cast

Anne Parillaud	...	Jeanne
Grégoire Colin	...	The Actor
Roxane Mesquida	...	The Actress
Ashley Wanninger	...	Leo, the first assistant
Dominique Colladant	...	Willy
Bart Binnema	...	Director of Photography
Yves Osmu	...	The sound engineer
Francis Seleck	...	The production manager
Elisabete Piecho	...	Continuity Girl
Diane Scapa	...	The production designer
Ana Lorena	...	The make-up artist
Claire Monatte	...	The other make-up artist (as Claire Monnatte)
Arnaldo Junior	...	The chief electrician
Elisabete Silva	...	The boom operator
Júlia Fragata	...	The set dresser

Also Known As:

Scènes intimes (France) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic nudity and dialogue.

Runtime:

92 min | France:94 min

Country:

France | Portugal

Language:

French | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | South Korea:18 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Portugal

Company:

CB Films

Quotes:

Jeanne: Words are lies, bodies are truth - I have to show the truth.

Movie Connections:

References À ma soeur! (2001)

Fascinating insights under the guise of entertaining comedy

Another fabulous movie from Catherine Breillat, this time about the difficulties of shooting a sex scene in a movie. Using comedy – a new genre for Breillat – we get a backstage view of filmmaking but in documentary style. The character who plays the director in the movie is based on Breillat, the sex scene in question is taken from her earlier film ‘A Ma Soeur' as is the main teenage actress. But the film, like all of Breillat's work, is not entertainment alone. It is peppered with philosophical observations on the nature of sexuality as well as demonstrating a devotion to ‘purity' (as opposed to pornography) that is a cornerstone of Breillat's work and a devotion to real emotion. We see the director character harangue the young lead actress and actor to bring the best out in them, hypnotising them into the parts they need to play, bringing out part of themselves that the director can see in them but they cannot see in themselves until they achieve the heights of acting that she demands of them. She makes meaningful movies, not titillation, but she shows the work that is needed to produce this, and so gives us insights both into the (decidedly French) film making process and the psychology of male – female sexuality.