Demonlover (2002)

Two corporations compete for illicit 3D manga pornography, sending spies to infiltrate each other's operations.

Director:

Olivier Assayas

Writer:

Olivier Assayas

Stars:

Connie Nielsen, Gina Gershon, Chloë Sevigny

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Connie Nielsen	...	Diane de Monx
Charles Berling	...	Hervé Le Millinec
Chloë Sevigny	...	Elise Lipsky
Dominique Reymond	...	Karen
Jean-Baptiste Malartre	...	Henri-Pierre Volf
Gina Gershon	...	Elaine Si Gibril
Edwin Gerard	...	Edward Gomez
Thomas M. Pollard	...	Avocat américain
Abi Sakamoto	...	Kaori - la traductrice
Naoko Yamazaki	...	Eiko
Nao Ohmori	...	Shoji (as Nao Ômori)
Jean-Pierre Gos	...	Verkamp - Contact Diane
Julie Brochen	...	Gina - Amie de Diane
Randall Holden	...	Ray
Alexandre Lachaux	...	Erwan - Broker #1

Storyline

Diane works for a French firm bidding to purchase a Japanese animation outfit. Diane maliciously hatches a plot to take the job of her supervisor Karen. The plan succeeds, but then Diane faces problems when a competing American firm, represented by Elaine, becomes involved. Diane's assistant Elise remains loyal to Karen, and she frustrates Diane's every move. When it comes to light that the one of the concerned parties controls an Internet site which broadcasts actual torture, the plot thickens.

---

Plot Keywords:

pornography | black panties | misogyny | rape victim | female female kiss | 

---

Genres:

Thriller | Drama | Mystery

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexual content and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Palm Pictures

Country:

France

Language:

English French Japanese

Release Date:

6 November 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

Agente Infiltrada

Filming Locations:

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Roissy-en-France, Val-d'Oise, France

Box Office

Budget:

€7,032,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$39,284, 21 September 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$231,756, 25 January 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Citizen Films,Cofimage,Elizabeth Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min 117 min (unrated) 115 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The prêt-a-porter featured is from a Fred Sathal collection and is credited along the movie and video game extracts featured.

---

Goofs

The film confuses the word Manga (which is Japanese comic books). The word the film should have used was Anime (which is Japanese animation).

---

Quotes

Hervé Le Millinec: I saw you move. I saw you with Volf.
Diane de Monx: What did you see?
Hervé Le Millinec: How you operated. I admire you.
Diane de Monx: You didn't see anything. No one sees anything. Ever. They watch... But they don't understand.

---

Alternate Versions

There are at least three versions of the film:

• the R-rated version
• the unrated director's cut (which has less pixalation and a longer Hellfire club scene)
• the version originally shown at Cannes (assumed to be ca. 10 minutes longer)

---

Connections

Referenced in Honest Trailers: Showgirls (2018)

---

Soundtracks

Teknikal Illprovisation
Performed by Sonic Youth

User Reviews

You got jumper cables?

"Demonlover" needs a jump start to get it going. A slick thriller sans thrills, this cosmopolitan drama inches its way along with sinister rumbling undercurrents which rumble sinisterly though 90 minutes of sketchy thumbnail scenes which when pieced together create an aura of mystery and intrigue with the mystery being the answer to the question what the hell is this stupid film about and the intrigue being something to do with a website which is really, really, really hard to get into, unless you're a kid with Dad's Mastercard, having to do with torture and violent video games. A pathetic attempt at over-the-top film making recommended only for prefrontal lobotomites. (C-)