A Gallic movie that proved too violent and sexy even for the laid-back French is coming to New York – uncut and unrated.
The film, “Baise-moi,” has been called a French “Thelma & Louise.” It follows two psychotic, man-hating women who go on a sex, robbery and murder spree.
It includes bloody violence; unsimulated, graphic sex; and close-ups of male and female sex organs.
The anti-heroines of the film are a porno actress (Raffaela Anderson) who shoots her brother and a prostitute (Karen Bach) who strangles her female roommate.
They meet accidentally and set off on their twisted rampage across France, stopping along the way at a sex club where they indiscriminately murder all the patrons.
The opening scenes, in which two women, including Anderson’s character, are kidnapped, beaten and raped by three men, have a close-up of penetration.
Post critic Lou Lumenick, who saw the uncut version at the Toronto Film Festival last year, called it “as close to a hard-core porn flick as you’re likely to see at a film festival.”
Richard Pena, program director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, saw the uncut “Baise-moi” in Europe last summer.
“It has a lot of energy, but it wasn’t the most coherent movie I’ve ever seen,” he told The Post yesterday. Still, Pena added, “It has a power that prevented me from looking away. It was an intriguing experience.”
Virginie Despentes, who wrote the novel on which the movie is based, penned the screenplay and co-directed with Coralie Trin-Thi.
In defending the film, Despentes has said: “The sex scenes must be real in order to add authenticity to the story. A woman’s right to show off her sexuality has been perverted by men who have a problem with femininity. Women shouldn’t have to deal with men’s silly little hang-ups.”
“Baise-moi,” which literally means “F – – – Me” but is being translated as “Rape Me” for distribution in the United States and elsewhere, opened on 60 screens in France before being pulled from distribution under pressure from conservative groups.
The filmmakers went to court, and “Baise-moi” was returned to theaters. It later was released on home video in France.
The film, shot on digital video, has also opened in Britain and Canada, but only after about 10 seconds of explicit footage were removed.
Remstar Distribution, based in Montreal, has picked up North American rights for the film, and will join FilmFixx, Santa Monica, Calif., on the U.S. distribution.
“Baise-moi” makes its U.S. debut tomorrow at the San Francisco Film Festival, to be followed next week by a commercial run in that city.
It bows June 1 in Los Angeles and opens in New York (at Cinema Village) July 6.