Ma Mère (2004)
"Ma mère" (original title)

Based on George Bataille's posthumous and controversial novel: When his father dies, a young man is introduced by his attractive, amoral mother to a world of hedonism and depravity.

Director:

Christophe Honoré

Writers:

Georges Bataille (novel), Christophe Honoré

Stars:

Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel, Emma de Caunes

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Isabelle Huppert	...	Hélène, the Mother
Louis Garrel	...	Pierre, the Son
Emma de Caunes	...	Hansi
Joana Preiss	...	Réa
Jean-Baptiste Montagut	...	Loulou
Dominique Reymond	...	Marthe
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Robert
Philippe Duclos	...	The Father
Pascal Tokatlian	...	Klaus
Théo Hakola	...	Ian
Nuno Lopes	...	The Doctor
Patrick Fanik	...	Eric
Susi Egetenmeier	...	Woman in dunes
Sylvia Johnson	...	Woman of couple

Storyline

Pierre, a youth, comes from his grandmother's in France to stay with his parents in the Canary Islands. His father talks oddly about his lost youth and leaves abruptly for France. Mom promises to take Pierre to a nightclub, remarking that people will think he's her lover. He prays. His father dies in France, and his mother wants him to empty his father's office; Pierre finds it full of pornography. His mother takes him in tow into a night world without morality, a world of sexual exploitation, exhibitionism, and wildness. What will Pierre make of this, and what, ultimately, will he make of his mother?

---

Plot Keywords:

exhibitionism | island | canary islands | father son relationship | sexual promiscuity | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for strong and aberrant sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

TLA Releasing [us]

Country:

France Portugal Austria Spain

Language:

French English German Spanish

Release Date:

19 May 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Ma Mère

Filming Locations:

Canary Islands, Spain

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,334 (USA) (13 May 2005)

Gross:

$70,395 (USA) (19 August 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gemini Films, Madragoa Filmes, Amour Fou Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Stereo Stereo (Synchro Film, Austria)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Caché (Hidden) (2005)

---

Soundtracks

"Agnus Dei"
Written by Samuel Barber
Performed by 'Choir of New College Oxford'

User Reviews

A foul excursion into territories that became, after a certain point, comical.

I can enjoy sexy French movies as much as the next person. But this movie is simply gross, to the point of being almost comical. Its furthest excesses rival in bawdiness the kinds of high jinks you'd expect to see in a Farrelly Brothers movie, but without the jokes. Quite the opposite, this film is pretty dark. It could have been a brooding, beautifully shot, and deeply literary meditation on the tangled emotions, Freudian and otherwise, that run through families. Especially considering Isabelle Huppert, who I'd think I could enjoy watching do almost anything, maybe even eat a live horse or perform an emergency tracheotomy, her beauty and her abilities being so complex, limitless and profound. But I did have trouble watching her do the things she does here -- where the artfulness present in other parts of the movie is left behind and only absurdity remains. Perhaps I'm just a prude.