Maitresse (1976)
An extremely controversial film about a petty thief (Gerard Depardieu) who breaks into a Paris apartment and unwittingly enters the realm of a dominatrix (Bulle Ogier) who entertains clients in her, for want of a better word, dungeon.
The BBFC and other censors had real problems with Maitresse (Mistress) upon release thanks to some near pornographic depictions of real S&M sex but the film is about so much more than titillation.
Maitresse is an exploration of sadism - the desire to inflict pain via sexual situations - and masochism - the desire to receive such pleasure - and the ways in which each role may or may not be in control of the situation. Director Barbet Schroeder also plays with Depardieu and the viewer and their own assumptions, attitudes and role in such acts as an observer and how deeply it may draw them into a world of desires they never suspected they had and it's through this that Depardieu and Ogier's romance plays out which is probably the most important thing in the film.
Maitresse isn't as you can imagine easy viewing, some may still find it hard to watch, in fact i admit i fast forwarded without looking a scene at an abattoir which i had seen previously on vhs where horses are slaughtered, but overall it's a fascinating, transgressive film about the complexities of relationships in a dark love story.
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