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 Maitresse
(1976)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Criterion / 2004
Directed by Barbet Schroeder
Written by Barbet Schroeder & Paul Voujargol
Cast: Bulle Ogier, Gerard Depardieu, Andre Rouyer & Nathalie
Keryan
Review by James Garfield
Olivier and his friend Mario decide to break into an
apartment when the owner of the apartment above tells them
that the old lady owning the downstairs apartment has gone
on vacation. What they find surprises them; it’s not an old
woman’s abode but an S&M dungeon, connected to the upstairs
apartment by mechanized retractable stairs. Ariane, the
dominatrix owner of both the apartment and the dungeon,
catches them in the act, and quickly enlists Olivier in
helping her discipline and punish her clients. Olivier
enters into a love affair with Ariane, and though she tries
to keep their relationship separate from her business, he
begins investigating on his own what the real story is
behind her setup.
Engaging, thought-provoking, and shocking, Maitresse
combines romance, comedy and mystery into an examination of
the element of power in romantic relationships. Upstairs and
downstairs, Ariane’s relationships with Olivier and with her
clients are both paralleled, inevitably asking the question:
are Ariane’s two lives really that different from each
other? Romance isn’t so innocent; quarrels between lovers
indicate the struggle over the ever-shifting role of who
gets to make the decisions this time. Of course, the viewer
can also shove all the intellectual stuff aside and gawk at
the S&M scenes, highlighted infamously by a man who gets his
penis nailed to a block of wood and his nipples pierced.
(Don’t worry, though, the man and others who get disciplined
were played by actual masochists who enjoyed the
experience.) A scene of a horse meeting its maker in a
slaughterhouse will repulse even more people. |
