Catherine Breillat (French Film Directors Series)

This monograph looks at critically acclaimed and controversial film director, Catherine Breillat. It investigates the thorny differences between Breillat's films and patriarchal pornography. It covers all 11 of her feature films and reveals the ground between their inspirations and their critical reception.;Female virgins and the shaming gaze -- Sisters as one soul in two bodies -- Masculine tenderness and macho violence -- Staging masochism, facing shame. This is the first English-language book on controversial female director Catherine Breillat, whose films include Romance, A ma soeur! (Fat Girl), Anatomy of Hell and The Last Mistress. This volume explores the director's complex relation to religion and to feminism, and it examines the differences between Breillat's films and patriarchal pornography, engaging in detailed analysis of her intimate scenes between men and women. Keesey also discusses the literature, films, paintings and photos that have influenced Breillat's work, and extends this to show how Breillat's films have influenced other filmmakers and artists in turn. A lively and accessible introduction, this book will appeal to students and researchers, as well as all those with an interest in gender studies, French film and contemporary cinema. The first full-length monograph in English devoted to one of the most acclaimed and controversial directors in contemporary cinema -- .