Controversial Classics
Delve in, if you dare, to this collection of once forbidden fruits; causes célèbre and succès de scandale to incite, provoke and arouse.
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Private Vices, Public Virtues
Filled with highly choreographed set pieces, Jancsó reimagines Crown Prince Rudolf’s final, rebellious, lust-drenched days in his imperial hunting lodge.
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Whore
Controversial British director Ken Russell relocates former cabbie David Hines’ play Bondage from London to Los Angeles for the story of a night in the life of Liz, a cynical sex-worker looking for a way out but trapped by poverty and a dangerous pimp. Released a year after Pretty Woman, Whore’s ...
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Baise-moi
This film is a blunt, brash and blood-smeared revenge tale of two sex workers who decide to go on a killing spree through France. Co-directed by French feminist provocateur Despentes, and based on her book, Baise-moi does not care for cinematic slickness, instead using handheld visuals and raw la...
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Battle Royale
In a world where teenagers have no respect and adults are losing control there can be only one solution: Battle Royale! Now, see what happens when you let a high school class loose on an island, arm them and then give them a simple choice... Kill your friends or have them kill you; with poison, c...
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Scarlet Diva
Anna is a popular Italian film actress and aspiring filmmaker, writing her first screenplay, the semi-autobiographical project Scarlet Diva. Hurtling across Europe and America in a blur of hedonism and despair, she seeks artistic recognition while struggling against exploitation. A whirlwind desc...
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Under the Skin
Sexy, dark and ultimately uplifting, Carine Adler's stylish debut gave Samantha Morton her first major feature film role in 1997. In this intimate exploration of a young woman's relationship with her mother and sister, things are going badly for Iris (Samantha Morton); her mother (Rita Tushingham...
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The Pillow Book
As a child in Kyoto in the 1970s, Nagiko's (Wu) calligrapher father used her body to write a birthday message in paint. Now grown up and living in Hong Kong, she seeks a lover who will use her whole body as a blank canvas. English translator Jerome (Ewan McGregor) reverses roles and becomes the s...
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Sexual Drive
Japanese designer Enatsu is worried about his sexless marriage. Meanwhile, office worker Akrane is preparing to return to work after a period of rehab following driving-induced panic attacks. Finally, successful advertising agent Ikeyama is looking to end his relationship. They are unknowingly co...
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Skinflicker
Presented as found footage à la The Blair Witch Project, this chilling and provocative fake home movie presents the story of three dissidents and their plan to commit a revolutionary act on film. Will Knightley (father of Keira) plays one of the guerrillas who kidnap and torture a cabinet minister.
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Perversion Story
George Dumurrier (Sorel), a doctor based in San Francisco, is accused of murdering his wife (Marisa Mell) to solve his extramarital and financial affairs. When he and his lover run into her doppelgänger Monica at a high-class strip club, he is both shocked and beguiled, but desperate to uncover t...
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Sitcom
When the father of a stereotypical middle-class French family brings home a pet rat, he triggers a surge of orgies, incest and murder within his prim and polished suburban home. François Ozon (Swimming Pool) displays hints of Luis Buñuel and John Waters in his anarchic takedown of the middle-clas...
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Max mon amour
When British diplomat Peter Jones suspects his wife of infidelity, he is stunned to discover that the ‘other man’ is a chimpanzee. On a whim, he invites his hairy rival to move into the luxurious family home – more out of curiosity than jealousy – leading to uncomfortable dinner parties, ...
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Lilya-4-Ever
Lilya is 16, and lives in a dismal suburb in a nameless town somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Abandoned by her mother, and bullied by a wicked aunt, her only comfort comes from Volodya, a good-hearted younger boy who she befriends. Hope arrives when Lilya meets and falls in love with Andrei,...
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Tony
Tony (Peter Ferdinando) cuts an odd figure. Wandering the streets of his East London neighbourhood, he quietly observes the people around him, occasionally inviting an unlucky few back to his flat for some squash. Asking a prostitute for a cuddle or reeling off his extensive VHS collection, he is...
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The Pornographer
When the son of former porn filmmaker Jacques Laurent found out what his father did for living, he ran away from home and refused to have any contact with him. Laurent put an end to his career. Many years later, his financial problems meant he had to take up his old profession again. The professi...