After Sex

Watching movies isn't merely an entertaining and stimulating pastime--it's instructive, too, at least for the aspiring filmmaker. The lesson I learned by watching this one is: Don't make a movie about your own failed love affair, because no matter how painful and traumatic it may have been for you personally, it will seem maudlin and self-indulgent onscreen, especially if you cast yourself in the lead role. The story is as old as Homo sapiens: girl meets boy; girl falls desperately in love with boy; boy sleeps with girl four or five times before losing interest; girl spends the rest of the movie alternately writhing around on her bed like a cat in heat (Rouan helpfully includes some footage of a cat in heat, lest we miss the point) and wandering about her apartment like an incredibly strange creature who stopped living and became a mixed-up zombie. While I imagine that we can all identify with this situation, that doesn't necessarily mean that we want to see it acted out for an hour and a half, even with superlative French actors like the ones on display here. Most of the film amounts to an uninvolving catalogue of ecstasy and misery. Not recommended. (M. D'Angelo)[DVD Review—Sept. 20, 2005—New Yorker, 95 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, $29.95—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1998's After Sex sports a decent transfer but no DVD extras. Bottom line: a disappointing extras package for a so-so film.]