"Sexy" French Films

So, I love French culture. I love the language, the food, the art, the wine, the country of course, and the films. Between taking French in middle school and high school, and a French film course in college and just a general interest in French cinema, I've probably seen about 50+ French films in my life. It has only recently occurred to me that most or all of these films have sexual undertones, mostly related to incestuous relationships, molestation, familial nudity, and just a lot of boning.

I was recently lucky enough to see two French films at the San Francisco International Film Festival. The first film I saw is called Home. It's about a carefree family whose lives are disrupted when a four-lane highway opens up in their front yard. There is familial nudity in about every 4 scenes, and some inappropriate "scratching" between mother and sun. That being said, I fucking loved the movie and everyone should see it. (I didn't love it because of the nudity, but it was certainly a plus).

The second film I saw is called 35 Shots of Rum. I'm not really sure what it's about. A segmented family that lives in the same apartment building in three separate apartments? Maybe. I guess it's not really about anything. But I do know that the scenes where the mother and father were inappropriately hugging and touching each other, and saying things like "I love being here with you" - that stuff made me feel really awkward. My friend who I saw it with said, "I think that's just how French people are; really close to their family." Maybe so, but does that mean you have to dance closely with your dad while groping his back? I think not.

When I think about all the French films I saw in school, I realize this is a common theme. La Boum is about this girl who is in love with her best friends father, and she even tries to lose her virginity to him at one point (whilst she has a boyfriend of her own age). Another film I saw is called Baise-Moi which roughly translates to a) "Love Me," b) "Fuck Me," and c) "Eat Me. The film is about this cannibalistic guy who literally eats women... down there. You get it.

I could go on and on with examples, but the truth is you have to give major props to the French for being so sexy and getting away with such provocative themes. If an American film maker made a film about a guy eating womens' private parts for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I don't think it would go over very well with the critics. Maybe in Cannes, but certainly not at Sundance.