Monday, February 18, 2008

IMPERATRIX CORNICULA (2007, Jerome Bertrand, A+++++)

It was such an intense weekend. I enjoyed some great films I saw very much—BIRTH OF THE SEANEMA, A SHORT FILM ABOUT THE INDIO NACIONAL (2006, Raya Martin, A+), but the most surprising thing for me is the dvd that I saw—L’EROTISME. It is a compilation of short films made by the directors I never heard of. I was stunned by the films in this dvd. Most of them are erotic/controversial/experimental. I like them very much. I think they are very creative. Some of them seem to be made on tiny budgets, but can create powerful feelings. Most of the soundtracks in this dvd are among the best ones I ever heard.

Though the films in this dvd are controversial, I think I don’t feel guilty enjoying most of them. I think I often feel a little bit guilty when I watch films which involve the real killing of animals. I can’t help thinking those animals don’t deserve to be killed. But for most of the films in this dvd, I don’t feel guilty enjoying them because I know they are fictional. I think one is entitled to enjoy some wild imaginations as long as one doesn’t hurt other animals or people in the real world.

I think the dvd L’EROTISME is strongly recommended for those who love some controversial films such as BAISE-MOI, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, SALO OR 120 DAYS OF SODOM, AN ARIA ON GAZE or LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT.

I wonder what Kenneth Anger and John Waters would think about some films in this dvd.

You can buy this DVD from this website:
http://xploitedcinema.com/catalog/lerotisme-erotic-short-films-compilation-p-13061.html

This dvd includes the following films:

1.IMPERATRIX CORNICULA (2007, Jerome Bertrand, Canada, A+)
Maybe one of the most effective horror films ever made.

2.ASS (2001, Usama Alshaibi, USA, 9 min, A+)

3.EXTASE DE CHAIR BRISEE (2005, Pierre-Luc Vallencourt + Frederik Maheux, Canada, 16 min, A+)

4.BABY DOLL (2006, Serge de Cotret, Canada, 3 min, A+)

5.MALDOROR: A PACT WITH PROSTITUTION (2005, Micki Pellerano + Nate Archer, USA, 9 min, A+)

6.THE LONELIEST LITTLE BOY IN THE WORLD (2000, Mike Dereniewski, USA, 5 min, A+)

7.KI (2001, Karl Lemieux, Canada, 3 min, A+)

8.RITUALIS (2004, Pat Tremblay, Canada, 8 min, A+/A)

9.PARANOID (2005, Anne Hanavan, USA, 3 min, A+/A)

10.LA FIN DE NOTRE AMOUR (2003, Helene Cattet + Bruno Forzani, Belgium, 9 min, A)

11.D’YEUX (2002-2007, Monk Boucher, Canada, 13 min)
This is a compilation of still images of some interesting erotic artworks.

You can read the review of this dvd from:
http://10kbullets.com/reviews/l/lerotisme/

You can watch the trailer of this dvd from:
http://www.cinema-abattoir.com/distribution-dvd/distribution-dvd.html

4 comments:

Matthew Hunt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Matthew Hunt said...

Revised/expanded version of previous comment:

Thank you so much for reviewing this DVD - I'd never heard of it, and it sounds fascinating. I'll add it to my wishlist.

There's another review which cites the Georges Bataille book L'Erotisme and Amos Vogel's book Film As A Subversive Art as direct inspirations for the DVD. I love the Bataille book, and the Vogel one is my all-time favourite film book.

Regarding narrative films featuring real animal deaths, I've been compiling a comprehensive list; if you know any other examples, please let me know. Real sex and death in art/film is often disturbing but always interesting.

celinejulie said...

I’m glad you are interested in this dvd. It is available in the Silom area. :-)

I have never read books by George Bataille and Amos Vogel, but they sound very interesting. The review that you linked to is great. I’m glad that the reviewer likes MALDOROR: A PACT WITH PROSTITUTION. I think this film may be the least controversial in the dvd, but I like the magical symbols represented in it. This film makes me want to become a witch.

As for real animal deaths in films, my problem is that I often don’t know the behind-the-scene information to know exactly if the animal killing is real or not. However, I can list some of the films which present the killing of animal, though I don’t know if it is real or not.

I apologize in advance if I remember anything wrongly.

1.CUTTING IT SHORT (1981, Jiri Menzel, Czechoslovakia)
We see the main actress killing a big animal for food in the opening scene of this film.

2.EMMA’S BLISS (2006, Sven Taddicken, Germany)
In the opening scene of this film, Emma is killing a pig.

3.LE GRAND CHEF (2007, Jeon Yun-su, South Korea)
We see some fish being killed for food.

4.IN A YEAR OF 13 MOON (1978, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West Germany)
We see some animals getting killed in a slaughterhouse.

5.I WILL WALK LIKE A CRAZY HORSE (1973, Fernando Arrabal, France)
We see a man biting off many chicken’s heads.

6.OUR DAILY BREAD (2005, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Austria)
We see a cow or an ox getting killed in the ending scene of this documentary.

7.SIA DAI (DAUGHTER) (1996, Chatrichalerm Yukol, Thailand)
One of the main characters works in a slaughterhouse, and we see her killing a cow or an ox in one scene.

8.TROPICAL MALADY (2004, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand)
We see fish getting killed by one of the protagonists in the jungle.


My big surprise happened while I was watching a short French film called KITCHEN (2005, Alice Winocour), which is about a woman torturing a lobster. It looked so real, and I felt very bad watching it. However, I felt very relieved when the ending credit of this film said that no animal was hurt during the filming.


A photo from KITCHEN
http://www.trailerfan.com/movie/kitchen/pictures/51875

Matthew Hunt said...

I had not heard of most of the films you list, but I Will Walk Like A Crazy Horse seems especially interesting: reviews at imdb.com compare it to Jodorowsky, so it sounds like another must-see.