A failed London musician meets once a week with a woman for a series of intense sexual encounters to get away from the realities of life. But when he begins inquiring about her, it puts their relationship at risk.
Although deeply in love with her boyfriend - and indeed sleeping in the same bed with him - a schoolteacher cannot handle the almost complete lack of intimacy he will allow. Increasingly ... See full summary »
Director:
Catherine Breillat
Stars:
Caroline Ducey,
Sagamore Stévenin,
François Berléand
A deadly car crash sets off three parallel stories of women at crisis points, faltering behind the doors of the same, plain Vienna apartment block. A bored nurse with a stable, comfortable ... See full summary »
An outgoing, sexually aggressive young woman meets and begins a torrid affair with an equally aggressive young man in which their affair begins to bring a strain on their personal lives.
Director:
Clement Virgo
Stars:
Lauren Lee Smith,
Eric Balfour,
Polly Shannon
In London, love blooms between an American college student, named Lisa, and an English scientist, named Matt. Over the next few months, between attending rock concerts, they have different kinds of sexual intercourse with each other.
Director:
Michael Winterbottom
Stars:
Kieran O'Brien,
Margo Stilley,
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Angela an illegal immigrant living in Los Angeles stumbles across Bill, a disgraced banker on the run.Through sex, conversation ranging from politics to philosophy, and other worldly pleasures, Angela introduces Bill to another worldview.
Director:
Philippe Diaz
Stars:
Keller Wortham,
Shari Solanis,
Luis Fernandez-Gil
Friends of a recently deceased minor painter Jean-Baptiste take a train in Paris for Limoges, where he wished to be buried, and all the people on the train have their problems.
Director:
Patrice Chéreau
Stars:
Pascal Greggory,
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi,
Charles Berling
A group of New Yorkers caught up in their romantic-sexual milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.
Reluctantly, a sulky adolescent returns to her parents' house for yet another boring summer vacation, dabbling in desire and the art of desirability, eventually mixing reality with vision, caged fantasies with the fierce female sexuality.
Director:
Catherine Breillat
Stars:
Charlotte Alexandra,
Hiram Keller,
Rita Maiden
Can strangers connect? Can casual sex become something else? In Santiago, Daniela and Bruno, both about 30, meet at a party, go to another and end up in a hotel. We join them there as ... See full summary »
One day at a colleague's going away party, Anna meets Domenico, a virile, slightly older chap who's married with two small kids. Passion's flames are rapidly kindled and result in steamy encounters.
Director:
Silvio Soldini
Stars:
Alba Rohrwacher,
Pierfrancesco Favino,
Teresa Saponangelo
Jay, a failed musician, walked out of his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One day Jay follows her and finds out about the rest of her life (and that her name is Claire). This eventually disrupts their relationship.Written by
Will Gilbert
Patrice Chéreau originally wanted Gary Oldman for the lead role, but he turned it down because of the sex scenes. The actor helped him with showing different locations in London. See more »
Quotes
Ian:
You know when you're with someone there's only a very short time when you can really give each other things for free... with neither of you having to ask. Because later on all you do is make demands of each other. Perhaps the only difference between her and all the rest is that she's asking you for nothing.
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Like most films either adapted from Hanif Kureishi's fiction or having screenplays written by him (`My Beautiful Laundrette', `Sammy And Rosie Get Laid' as well as this film, which lists Kureishi as a co-writer along with Anne-Louise Trividic and director Patrice Chereau), `Intimacy' circles its subject in an indirect manner, never declaring what it's truly about but leaving a distinct impression. This can make for difficult viewing, requiring an inordinate amount of concentration to keep up (and which wears you down after a while) and it only sinks in long after it's over. But that's the film's strong point: the writers prefer to have you draw your own conclusions, with dialogue that forces you to read between the lines of an affair in which both participants seem to be using it to address their individual demons. Chereau and Kureishi are more interested in their characters' circumstances than their actions but it's precisely their circumstances that make their actions compelling. Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox are the lovers (and they're excellent, even though the fact their trysts are presented in explicit detail may overshadow their performances), with Rylance as a bitter bartender who has spontaneously abandoned his family and Fox as a drama teacher stifled in her marriage to a cabbie (Mike Leigh favorite Timothy Spall, also very fine) whom Rylance befriends in an attempt to understand her; it's the tensions that build around the trio that drives the narrative. It's an unhappy yet sensitive film that may distance some audiences and push others into uncomfortable areas they may not want to visit, yet there's no denying its inquisitive, intelligent presence.
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Like most films either adapted from Hanif Kureishi's fiction or having screenplays written by him (`My Beautiful Laundrette', `Sammy And Rosie Get Laid' as well as this film, which lists Kureishi as a co-writer along with Anne-Louise Trividic and director Patrice Chereau), `Intimacy' circles its subject in an indirect manner, never declaring what it's truly about but leaving a distinct impression. This can make for difficult viewing, requiring an inordinate amount of concentration to keep up (and which wears you down after a while) and it only sinks in long after it's over. But that's the film's strong point: the writers prefer to have you draw your own conclusions, with dialogue that forces you to read between the lines of an affair in which both participants seem to be using it to address their individual demons. Chereau and Kureishi are more interested in their characters' circumstances than their actions but it's precisely their circumstances that make their actions compelling. Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox are the lovers (and they're excellent, even though the fact their trysts are presented in explicit detail may overshadow their performances), with Rylance as a bitter bartender who has spontaneously abandoned his family and Fox as a drama teacher stifled in her marriage to a cabbie (Mike Leigh favorite Timothy Spall, also very fine) whom Rylance befriends in an attempt to understand her; it's the tensions that build around the trio that drives the narrative. It's an unhappy yet sensitive film that may distance some audiences and push others into uncomfortable areas they may not want to visit, yet there's no denying its inquisitive, intelligent presence.