A waste of time.

A grim watch, to be sure, but a fascinating and thought-provoking one. Isabelle Huppert is simply outstanding as a musician who sacrifices her humanity, and eventually her sanity, in an attempt to attain perfection in her art.

i had heard quite a bit about this movie for its sexual explicitness but what surprised me was that it gave such a three dimensional glimpse into the world of sexual aberration—from a female perspective. isn’t the sick twist always a man? not this time.

i have to admit it. it made something in me flinch involuntarily to see a somewhat dignified and rather conservative older woman (albeit attractive to my eye but still older, which by today’s standards means that she is inherently undesirable) put on a trenchcoat (playing up to that stereotype nicely), self-consciously creep into a porn shop filled with men (who look at her oddly), settle into a booth and, as she’s watching the porn, she’s digging through the garbage for used (semen-covered) tissue. when she finds it, she sniffs it with such an expression of disgust and sweet relief, it’s almost stultifying. the boy she takes up with is as blonde and young and sweet and fine as she is not. yow.

needless to say, the actors’ full-on commitment to their work takes all of it even further. ultimately, i felt more for her than i imagined i would. and i was left to wonder about where sexual aberration comes from. what is “normal”, exactly, anyway? and who but the french could have made such a flick? we’re way too puritanical and prudish to ever pull of something like this.

insightful, strange, full of feeling and tenderness when you least expect it, violent and achingly sad. a definite must-see.