Baise-moi

When a dvd has various words like ‘explicit’, ‘shocking’ or ‘uncensored’ on the cover, I can’t take it too serious. But I remember that it aroused some media attention too when it was showing in smaller film theatres a few years back. It’s indeed a rough film, made by two female directors. Two girls are living in a violent neighbourhood, where drugs, rape and beating up are common practices. They don’t seem to have much perspective to escape from that, nor do they try so. Bad fate brings them together and they start a wild trip. What follows is in form a classic roadmovie of two girls on the run. Perhaps this makes you think of ‘Thelma & Louise’, but ‘Natural Born Killers’ is closer to the truth.

A story of two girls with guns who act like machines. ‘Baise-moi’ is a cold and grim movie, almost devoid of feelings or morals. The girls fuck, kill and destroy for no other reason than because they can. The sex is as explicit as in a porn movie, the violence is more bloody than in a Tarantino movie. Sex and violence are constantly alternated. You wonder why this movie was made. Was it a ‘provocation’? Is it an attempt to show what people are able to when they get the chance? Anyway, popular violent movies like ‘Bad Boys’ or ‘Kill bill’ don’t seem to cause so much controversion, though they are just as bloody. It it because there is no humour in ‘Base-moi’? Because the sex scenes are so explicit (for strange reasons sex is a bigger taboo than violence)? Because the girls do their deeds without clear reasons, even with growing pleasure? Because the film leaves you with a very empty feeling?
The one thing I’m sure of is that I liked the energetic (French) music.