FIPRESCI Prize
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A retelling of Gustave Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" as a surreal story of universal suffering, the film emphasizes the heroine's internal transformation as she slowly loses her grip on reality. Her fascination with rich clothing and her almost childish desire to be lost in passion is brilliantly contrasted with the small-town life that leaves Emma tragically isolated in her passionate attempt to bridge the gap between spirituality and sensuality.
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Member Reviews (1)
top reviewer
Well worth viewing again. very well acted, and visually powerful. It is interesting that Surrealism is
employed to tell the story. Is there in fact a true gap between sensual and spiritual? The dominant
religions of the world, which are male centered would insist, with few exceptions, that sensuality
is anathema to spirituality; and downright dangerous to the true believer. The nature oriented
religions, which are often deeply influenced by the feminine , don't see this bifurcation. From my
viewpoint, this separation is a product of masculine cultural dominance. Much suffering in the world
is a consequence of the repression of women, and the religions which have split off the feminine,
part of which is the sensual. Thus, quite naturally the suffering women , who has been culturally
conditioned to believe that a gap exists, must be viewed through a surreal, or irrational lens. This
reminds me of Freud's categorization of strong emotions in women as hysterical. When one runs against deeply ingrained beliefs, she(or he) can be considered, and treated as an aberration;
which can drive the pioneer to a state of insanity, and occasionally suicide. In art suicide is a
metaphor for extreme suffering , which is all to often real.