Anatomy of Hell (2004)

A woman employs a gay man to spend four nights at her house to watch her when she's "unwatchable".

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Writer:

Catherine Breillat (based on the novel "Pornocratie")

Stars:

Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi, Alexandre Belin

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Amira Casar	...	The Woman
Rocco Siffredi	...	The Man
Alexandre Belin	...	Blow-job lover 1
Manuel Taglang	...	Blow-job lover 2
Jacques Monge	...	Man in bar
Claudio Carvalho	...	Boy with the Bird
Carolina Lopes	...	Little Girl
Diego Rodrigues	...	Little boy playing doctor (as 'Diogo Rodriques')
Diogo Rodriques	...	Boy Playing Doctor
João Marques	...	Boy Playing Doctor
Bruno Fernandes	...	Little boy playing doctor
Maria Edite Moreira	...	Pharmacist 1
Maria João Santos	...	Pharmacist 2
Catherine Breillat	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

A man rescues a woman from a suicide attempt in a gay nightclub. Walking the streets together, she propositions him: She'll pay him to visit her at her isolated house for four consecutive nights. There he will silently watch her. He's reluctant, but agrees. As the four nights progress, they become more intimate with each other, and a mutual fascination/revulsion develops. By the end of the four-day "contract", these two total strangers will have had a profound impact on each other.

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Plot Keywords:

sex while asleep | copulation | female genitalia | female full frontal nudity | bare breasts | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Distributor site Film site

Country:

France Portugal

Language:

French

Release Date:

28 January 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Anatomy of Hell

Filming Locations:

Ericeira, Portugal

Company Credits

Production Co:

Flach Film, CB Films, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min 87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film explicitly states at the beginning that Amira Casar's sex scenes were done with a body double. Indeed, Casar allegedly told her male co-star Rocco Siffredi that she would not be having sex with him for the purposes of the film. Interestingly, Siffredi himself had a porn double for the opening gay fellatio scene. Despite being a porn star in real life and being very liberal in his sexual proclivities, gay man-on-man sex was apparently a step too far for the Italian.

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Quotes

The man: Man can't create the life, they can accept it only.
The woman: But man can bring death.

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Connections

Referenced in Brows Held High: Room in Rome (2013)

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Soundtracks

Timeless Bass
Written by D'Julz Single Studio
Produced by D'Julz Single Studio
(C) 20:20 vision records

User Reviews

Strikingly familiar

I was fortunate enough to attend the world premiere of this film at the 2004 Rotterdam film festival in The Netherlands. Of all the films shown, this was the one most sought after for viewing.

The Director and two stars of the film answered questions after the movie and I got to meet Rocco in person. He is taller than I would expect. Many people brought porn for him to sign.

Anyway, film was very interesting. I liked the conflict between the woman and the gay man. Both had strong convictions about life and held to their guns. Rocco did a great job showing his emotions and the sex scenes were memorable, even crude at times. It is frightening how we as an audience could relate to them though.

Amira Casar was stunning. I could not keep my eyes of her during the whole movie. And yes, she is just as beautiful in person. Overall the movie was provocative and interesting staying true to form in regards to French Cinema.

Many people asked Catherine Breillat why she would cast Rocco Sifreddi (The number one male porn star in the world) for the male lead. Her answer,"Directors look for the most beautiful women to star in their films. I cast the most attractive men!"