Ma mère (2004)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Christophe Honoré

Writers:

Georges Bataille (novel)
Christophe Honoré (writer)

Release Date:

19 May 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Exhibitionism | Island | Canary Islands | Istanbul Turkey | Love

Awards:

2 nominations

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

Also Known As:

Meine Mutter (Austria)
Mi madre (Spain)
My Mother (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for strong and aberrant sexual content.; Rated R for strong aberrant sexuality, some language and violent images. (special edit)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

France | Portugal | Austria | Spain

Language:

French | English | German | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | Canada:18A | Portugal:M/18 | USA:R (cut) | New Zealand:R18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | France:-16 | Italy:VM18 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Canary Islands, Spain

Company:

Gemini Films

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Caché (2005)

Soundtrack:

ADAGIO FOR STRINGS

Rotten at the Core

It is ironic that the protagonist in "Ma Mere" evolves from a "believer" into an "agnostic" after the tutelage in depravity offered him by his mother. Ironic, because certainly if ever there were a film that inspired--demanded--moral judgement upon its characters, it is this one (all the more so, when one views the alternate ending on the DVD). And yet, the message of the film (if there is really any) is that there is no place for judgement--or any hope of redemption. This turns a rather pornographic character study into a third rate tragedy. I remember the grave controversy that erupted over Bertolucci's "Luna" in 1979. How open minded (or, how low we have sunk, depending on your take on the matter) we have become as filmgoers that "Ma Mere" hardly caused a ripple. Indeed it is "Luna" to the tenth power. Although the plot does little more than provide a reason for the cast to engage in fornication, incest, homosexuality, domination, abuse, flaying (sort of), etc., Isabelle Huppert as the mother, and Louis Garrell as her son, are excellent (and beautiful)--as usual. That they have lent their talents to camouflaged exploitation can best be described as "unwise", though some critics have called it "courageous." "The pleasure only begins when the worm is in the fruit", the mother tells her son at one point in the picture. You can be sure this fruit is rotten at the core.