Ma mère (2004)

Director:

Christophe Honoré

Writers:

Georges Bataille (novel)
Christophe Honoré (writer)

Release Date:

19 May 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Based on George Bataille's posthumous and controversial novel: When his father dies, a young man is introduced by his attractive, amoral mother to a world of hedonism and depravity.

Plot Keywords:

Urination | S&M | Rimming | Sunbathing | Exhibitionism

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Hélène, the Mother
Louis Garrel	...	Pierre, the Son
Emma de Caunes	...	Hansi
Joana Preiss	...	Réa
Jean-Baptiste Montagut	...	Loulou
Dominique Reymond	...	Marthe
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Robert
Philippe Duclos	...	The Father
Pascal Tokatlian	...	Klaus
Théo Hakola	...	Ian
Nuno Lopes	...	The Doctor
Patrick Fanik	...	Eric
Susi Egetenmeier	...	Woman in dunes
Sylvia Johnson	...	Woman of couple

Also Known As:

Meine Mutter (Austria)
My Mother (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for strong and aberrant sexual content.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

France | Portugal | Austria | Spain

Language:

French | English | German | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | USA:R (cut) | Canada:18A | Portugal:M/18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | France:-16 | Italy:VM18 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Canary Islands, Spain

Company:

Madragoa Filmes

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Caché (2005)

Soundtrack:

Happy Together

A foul excursion into territories that became, after a certain point, comical.

I can enjoy sexy French movies as much as the next person. But this movie is simply gross, to the point of being almost comical. Its furthest excesses rival in bawdiness the kinds of high jinks you'd expect to see in a Farrelly Brothers movie, but without the jokes. Quite the opposite, this film is pretty dark. It could have been a brooding, beautifully shot, and deeply literary meditation on the tangled emotions, Freudian and otherwise, that run through families. Especially considering Isabelle Huppert, who I'd think I could enjoy watching do almost anything, maybe even eat a live horse or perform an emergency tracheotomy, her beauty and her abilities being so complex, limitless and profound. But I did have trouble watching her do the things she does here -- where the artfulness present in other parts of the movie is left behind and only absurdity remains. Perhaps I'm just a prude.