"Exterminating Angels" ** (out of ****)"Exterminating Angels" the latest film from French filmmaker Jean-Claude Brisseau is a film which may push a lot of social buttons. It reminds me of the work of another French director, Catherine Breillat in the way this film tries to explore female sexuality.
Brisseau's film is clearly not for everyone. Even the film's poster may turn off some viewers. All you have to do is look at it and many people will instantly make up their minds whether or not they want to see such a film. They may be well advised to pass it up.
The film follows Francois (Frederic van den Driessche) a director who decides to make a film about female sexuality and breaking socially accepted sexual taboos.
In order to make such a film Francois is going to have to interview several woman and tape them as they confess their deepest darkest desires and pleasure themselves in front of him. But it is understood he will not touch them. After all, he's only the director.
At this point the film largely consist of Francois meeting with beautiful women and watching them please themselves. All the while, Francois goes into what he considers profound questions trying to understand female sexuality and what arouses them.
Of all the women he "interviews" he finally decides upon three; Charlotte (Maroussia Dubreuil), Julie (Lise Bellynck) and Stephanie (Marie Allan). All of them tell Francois they have never experienced such pleasure in their life and find themselves attracted to the idea of him watching them. Some even claim to have fallen in love with him.
For one reason or another the idea of exploring sex in philosophical, analytical terms has always seemed to attract French filmmakers and thinkers. But in doing so, they merely become pretentious bores themselves. The way they phrase the question and how they go about exploring the issue is wrong. Can an intelligent film be made about sex and how the sexes view it? Of course, I have no doubt about it. But the work of Breillat and to a larger extent "Exterminating Angels" seem more like porn than art.
The difference between Breillat, who has directed such films as "Anatomy of Hell" and "Sex Is Comedy" and Brisseau is Breillat doesn't seem to want to arouse us. "Exterminating Angels" seems to exploit the issue. It relies so heavily on female nudity and graphic sex scenes that the viewer simply becomes distracted from any greater social point the director may be trying to make.
Some have claimed the film is auto-biographical, though the director denies that claim. While filming his last film "Secret Things" two actresses involved in that film filed charges against Brisseau as they claimed misappropriate events occurred during auditions and as a result harassment charges were lead against Brisseau. Could this film be his way of vindicating the matter? Is this his version of what happened? Does it matter?
"Exterminating Angels" is the kind of film where a man asks two women to take off their clothes and make love to each while he watches. He calls it art. I call it a very good date. You decide.
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