Controversy attends this gritty adaptation of Virginie Despentes' feminist novel about two young French women brutalized by society and men (mostly men), who go on a nihilistic excursion of mayhem and hedonism, inevitably crashing and burning in the end. Sound familiar? It should. This is, as Peter Travers observed in Rolling Stone, "Thelma & Louise with actual penetration." Most of the hype revolving around Baise-Moi is centered on the sex, but sex constitutes no more than 15% of the film (the violence is perhaps more pronounced), and, though some of the cast and crew are porn veterans, this is not smut. Contrary to rules of commerciality, the soundtrack is in French with English subtitles, something smut king Ron Jeremy would no more recommend than would Sam Goldwyn. Told from the point of view of the victimized women, the film pulls no punches, as the miscreant mademoiselles engage in anonymous unsafe sex with a variety of men. Male pleasure is of no concern; the women are calling the shots here as the film explores wanton carnality and violence from the distaff perspective. A word to the scholarly: the translation of the title is Rape Me--in itself a statement about the film's themes. While it's probably futile to recommend this admittedly low-budget feature, more adventurous collections will at least want to consider. (M. Tribby)
[Blu-ray/DVD Review—July 28, 2021—Kino Lorber, 77 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, Baise-Moi (2000) features a transfer that is as good as might be expected considering the low-budget film was shot on video. Extras include an enlightening audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger, a making-of documentary with interviews of directors Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi and stars Karen Bach and Raffaëla Anderson, and a Q&A with the directors. Bottom line: Baise-Moi remains a problematic film (for public libraries certainly) due to its sexually explicit scenes, but it’s also arguably more relevant in our #MeToo era.]