Before start I need to say that the cast is great especially Yahima Torres as the title character. Its an Oscar worthy performance, unfortunately it's buried in a film that is abusive to its audience as it is to the title character.
I saw this at the first screening at the NYFF and when it was over the audience around me wanted to find and kill the director. The audience was subdued, or rather the audience that remained was subdued and was mumbling about what would have made the film better...
This is the story of Saartjie 'Sarah' Baartman, best known as the Hottentot Venus, a woman of unique proportions who was exhibited all over Europe and died a tragic death. The film is told in flashback and starts with a lecture where her body parts are exhibited, and then flashes back to her days in London before taking us all the way back to her dissection. Its a warts and all look at the abuse she suffered in her life.
Nasty unpleasant unending film that is nothing but a repetitive catalog of the abuses that Baartman suffered in her life. It goes on and an on as she's abused in shows, by scientists, in sex shows, in brothels and as a streetwalker. There is no light no character only abuse.
The idea is that we are suppose to be made to feel complicit in the abuse and we are supposed to feel something but after almost three hours of GRAPHIC abuse wears you down. You go numb and if you were part of the audience at Alice Tully Hall you want to find the director and hit him.
While I wasn't driven to homicidal thoughts I was bored after a certain part and by the time she's cut up and put into jars I didn't much care.
On the other hand the news footage that plays during the end credits of her remains being returned to South Africa brought me to tears, but it would have done so even if I hadn't been abused for three hours.
Honestly the director makes his point after ten minutes and doesn't need two hours and a half hour more to repeat the point. By doing so he loses the argument and the audience.
I saw this at the first screening at the NYFF and when it was over the audience around me wanted to find and kill the director. The audience was subdued, or rather the audience that remained was subdued and was mumbling about what would have made the film better...
This is the story of Saartjie 'Sarah' Baartman, best known as the Hottentot Venus, a woman of unique proportions who was exhibited all over Europe and died a tragic death. The film is told in flashback and starts with a lecture where her body parts are exhibited, and then flashes back to her days in London before taking us all the way back to her dissection. Its a warts and all look at the abuse she suffered in her life.
Nasty unpleasant unending film that is nothing but a repetitive catalog of the abuses that Baartman suffered in her life. It goes on and an on as she's abused in shows, by scientists, in sex shows, in brothels and as a streetwalker. There is no light no character only abuse.
The idea is that we are suppose to be made to feel complicit in the abuse and we are supposed to feel something but after almost three hours of GRAPHIC abuse wears you down. You go numb and if you were part of the audience at Alice Tully Hall you want to find the director and hit him.
While I wasn't driven to homicidal thoughts I was bored after a certain part and by the time she's cut up and put into jars I didn't much care.
On the other hand the news footage that plays during the end credits of her remains being returned to South Africa brought me to tears, but it would have done so even if I hadn't been abused for three hours.
Honestly the director makes his point after ten minutes and doesn't need two hours and a half hour more to repeat the point. By doing so he loses the argument and the audience.