Maîtresse (1976)

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   Siskoid

   Barbet Schroeder looks at S&M culture in 1976's Maîtresse, a very clever picture, mostly a two-hander between Gérard Depardieu and Bulle Ogier who, as the brute Olivier and the dominatrix Ariane, spark up a nominally non-S&M relationship, I wouldn't say despite her job, but because it initially has an allure for him. The dominatrix stuff is rather explicit (I suspect her clients are the real thing), though the kink doesn't bother me in a film that also shows an animal being butchered in an abattoir (at least the people want to be there); that's all the content warnings you'll get from me. When I say Maîtresse is clever, it's because it contrasts Arianne's work with a so-called normal relationship where it's Olivier who seeks to dominate, and because of that, she gets to be a bit of a masochist as well. Yes, S&M is the extreme, but the movie wants to show that all relationships have their little games, their power struggles, their sadists and masochists. This plays out in big and small ways, from his trying to make her break off with her work to fighting over who gets to drive the car (a crucial metaphor). In the end, will they self-destruct, or will they both learn to surrender control to the other and find balance? A love affair told in a unique setting that kind of informs all love affairs. 4 years 11 months ago

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