I'm having a hard time forming a proper opinion on this. This film was undeniably uncomfortable and a bit difficult to sit through but I can kind of see what Breillat was going for. The lipstick scene and what followed was just weird and uncomfortable. So was the part with the tampon but she clearly isn't afraid to take the leaps needed for a powerful film.
The film is an exploration of "gynophobia" The idea that patriarchal society is built on a deep rooted fear and loathing of the female body. It alludes to this hatred through The Woman's belief that men find her unwatchable and disgusting. The Woman believes men hate women but that gay men hate them more than straight men. She claims men fear woman, their secrets, the things they don't fully understand. I spent most of the film feeling as though the man's actions only confirmed that he did in fact hate her and at the end of the day a gay man is still a man but the ending changed this by showing that the man was actually transformed by the experience.
Throughout the film The Man uses very vulgar language to describe The Woman, viewing her body as a "hole" or a "threat". His thoughts on The Woman and his narrative turned to violence and violation (the lipstick and the pitchfork) Theres a point where the man says “I bless the day I was made immune to you and all your kind.” Not long after he rapes the woman and cries after leaving her to console him. Theres a bit at the end when the four nights are over and The Man is discussing The Woman with another man in a bar clearly drunk and shaken. They berated The Woman and repeatedly called her a slut while the man brags about how he "destroyed her", Eventually breaking down and admitting it was the most intimate relationship he's ever had.
I'm having a hard time forming a proper opinion on this. This film was undeniably uncomfortable and a bit difficult to sit through but I can kind of see what Breillat was going for. The lipstick scene and what followed was just weird and uncomfortable. So was the part with the tampon but she clearly isn't afraid to take the leaps needed for a powerful film.
The film is an exploration of "gynophobia" The idea that patriarchal society is built on a deep rooted fear and loathing of the female body. It alludes to this hatred through The Woman's belief that men find her unwatchable and disgusting. The Woman believes men hate women but that gay men hate them more than straight men. She claims men fear woman, their secrets, the things they don't fully understand. I spent most of the film feeling as though the man's actions only confirmed that he did in fact hate her and at the end of the day a gay man is still a man but the ending changed this by showing that the man was actually transformed by the experience.
Throughout the film The Man uses very vulgar language to describe The Woman, viewing her body as a "hole" or a "threat". His thoughts on The Woman and his narrative turned to violence and violation (the lipstick and the pitchfork) Theres a point where the man says “I bless the day I was made immune to you and all your kind.” Not long after he rapes the woman and cries after leaving her to console him. Theres a bit at the end when the four nights are over and The Man is discussing The Woman with another man in a bar clearly drunk and shaken. They berated The Woman and repeatedly called her a slut while the man brags about how he "destroyed her", Eventually breaking down and admitting it was the most intimate relationship he's ever had.
