Anatomy of Hell

*½

Look, I for one consider abuse porn a disgusting, sickening display that revolts me to the point I want to puke. I prefer to see love-making and sex as a beautiful, sensual experience where women are pleasured, not grotesquely mistreated. I don’t know what kind of psycho-sexual bullshit director Catherine Breillat was putting me through with Anatomy of Hell, but it was certainly like sitting through hell just to get through it without wanting to turn the damn movie off. I guess there is a point regarding an object sticking way out of Amira Casar’s ass or Rocco Siffredi “encouraged” to drink a glass of water with a bloody tampon for added flavor. Maybe Rocco licking menstrual fluid of Casar’s from his fingers, or using a vegetable to bury in Casar’s vagina is a message of some sort. I imagine this is some sort of artistic expression about us scumbag men and unfortunate women who have to deal with us. I’m perfectly aware that plenty of men consider women merely sexual objects or conquests. They are notches on a belt who will say what they will to just land woman in the sack, have their way with them, and discard them like trash once boredom sets in. I don’t dispute this. Sexual politics and complex relationships are fertile ground for exploration and artistic expression. Breillat’s film has this sullen, sad sack who “rescues” Casar (should he have? That’s up for debate, I guess), and the film focuses on their time together in the villa that overlooks the rushing waves below a cliff. Amira and Rocco are beautiful people put together, no doubt, and their willingness to lay it bare and do as Breillat desires is commendable. At one point the vagina has lipstick applied all around it before coitus is engaged. Rocco penetrates Amira while she dozes or pretends to not care (I chose the latter). Sex isn’t enjoyed here. It is made ugly and gross. I guess that’s a statement. Some will like this, I think. I felt that there are plenty of people who consider the female condition (PMS, how they are objectified, etc.) this ugly thing that should be in our face and addressed in the most blunt fashion possible. All this said, while I considered this film a miserable experience overall, I believe Amira (before all the sexual blunt force trauma) is a beautiful woman who eschews the security (mostly; I have read that close-ups were performed by someone else) often provided to lead actresses regarding what we see of her and spends a lot of time naked. A total comfort in her skin is evident. She believes in the message Breillat kicks us in the nuts with. Rocco does what is asked of him, too. He’s courageous (or totally subservient to the director and material of the film) in that his character is required to be a victim and accomplice in aberrant, deviant behavior. Yuck.