Black Venus (2010)

Very disappointing...

Expected more

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

A doctor introduces the audience to what is about to unfold before our eyes on the screen. It is a lecture about an unusual woman who puzzled the scientists of the early XIX century. The subject of the study was a South African native, Saartjie Baartman, a woman of humble origins, working as a domestic help in the home of Hendrick Caezar, an opportunist, who realizes the potential in exploiting Saartjie to unsuspecting European audiences whose appetite for that type of freak shows proved to be a source of making money at the expense of the unfortunate woman.Another member of that circuit, the bear tamer Reaux, realizes the gold mine his friend has. Reaux manages to get Saartjie for his own exploitation. He devises a scheme where he pushes Saartjie into exhibiting her as a freak show for the corrupt higher classes of France, of that time. The bored high society saw in Saartjie an opportunity to satisfy their own perversity and abnormal sex desires, heightened by the presence of the exotic woman who is made to be the object of their fantasies. Ultimately, Saartjie resorts to prostitution, dying in miserable conditions. The ultimate desecration of this woman occurred as Reaux finally sells her body to the medical investigators Saartjie did not want to have them examine her most intimate parts."Black Venus", conceived and directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, the recent winner of best picture at Cannes 2013. The film is a documentary about the tragic life of a woman that attracted attention from people that exploited the physical attributes which she, a rarity for an ignorant public came to see as an aberration, as well as a sexual fantasy. M. Kechiche co-wrote the screenplay with Ghalia Lacroix. It is based on the real story of the South African woman, who finally was recognized as a victim of those who used her for their own benefit, getting rich by selling her as the wild animal she was not. The acting is one of the best things going for the film. Unfortunately, the central figure of Saartjie, as played by Yahima Torres, who appears to be a non professional actress, shows only a limited range of emotions, keeping her one expression, with the exception of her real tears, throughout the film. It probably is unfair to Ms. Torres, but she was in the company of more experienced professionals like the excellent Olivier Gourmet, who as Reaux, is the best thing in the picture. Theactor keeps surprising with every new appearance. Andre Jacobs as Fredrick Caezar manages to convey his hideous nature as the exploiter of the unfortunate woman. Elina Lowensohn makes an impression as Jeanne, the only kind soul Saartjie met in her life.Director Kechiche shows incredible talent and it is apparent he will be a force to be reckoned with in his future endeavors. The cinematographer, Ludomir Bakchev captures the mood of the period in which the action takes place.

This film exuberantly participates in the very abuse it purports to critique, debasing its actors, it audience, and most unforgivably, its subject. There is but one well-composed shot--of Saartjie and a journalist departing in a carriage--otherwise it is chock-full of lazily composed close ups of repulsive people doing repulsive things to an inscrutable, and hence utterly unknowable, totally cardboard, victim--one who can drink, smoke, cry, cough, yes, but what the hell is she thinking?! The director lets us in on nothing--she remains silent, acted upon, never reacting much less actually taking action! The one time in the screenplay that she resists unwelcome scrutiny, her decision is rendered incomprehensible by all the other exploitative events in the lamentable tale--based loosely, very, very, loosely, upon a true life-story. And sorry, but there is absolutely no need to cheapen the depth of the real woman's tragedy by all too simplistically literalizing (the totally un- historical) prostitution of Saartjie Baartman (note: I do not believe this is in any way a spoiler). Wow, I have never hated a movie this much--and I had high expectations because of thefascinating subject and because I very much enjoyed the filmmaker's "secret in the grain" (but for the indulgently long belly- dance) and "the games of love and chance"...but this one is hideously, monstrously, unforgivably, exploitative of a woman who has already suffered enough.

While you watch it, this movie will seem too slow, and repetitive. Then you will walk out of the movie theater and start thinking about it: was it too slow to voluntarily short circuit your movie consumer's habits ? was the repetitiousness not unlike some kind of minimalistic serial music? The next day, you will not have completely forgotten the movie, the same way you have completely forgotten the movie you saw the week before. Then, little by little, in the face of the harshness, inhumanity and sheer jungleness of the everyday world, you will think back on Venus noire, on how this movie is a kind of allegory for man's difficulty to care for others. Actually, the repetitiousness of the movie will seem to you not unlike the repetitiousness of man's constant recourse to the "master and slave" scenario to get ahead in life; and the slowness will seem to you not unlike the incredible length of time man is taking to try out some new kinder, less individualistic, more humane scenario which would not only help "the master/s" get ahead. The epilogue images are all about mankind being somehow, sometimes capable of forfeiting its "master and slave" compulsion. Thank you art for reminding us we are capable of that !

After hearing about this film through a significant amount of media attention in my neck of the woods (the Netherlands) I decided to give it a shot. The reviewers on TV and in the newspaper were talking about a story that was both moving and horrific, and that was sadly true as well.** Spoilers beyond this point **The movie starts of with the bodycast of our "black Venus" and her genitalia in a jar, which is passed around while we are shown detailed drawings of her vagina. Seriously WTF/ After that the movie tries to shock us again by showing us the performance black Venus has to do on stage. While you get it after 1 minute (yes she's in a cage, yes its demeaning, yes it's wrong) the director chooses to show it's entire length. This was the first time I checked my watch, OMG only 35 minutes in an already bored?What follows is more or less a how-to guide in how NOT to get the audience emotionally involved with your characters. Black Venus gets the chance to make a stance at a hearing in court about what's going on, claims it's her free will to participate, she's an actress yadadada. OK, cool, good for you Venus, while after seeing the stage show for the millionth time and enduring another round of shock-fire from the misguided director the movie becomes unbearable and is just as hard on you as it is on Venus. The movie drags on for a good 1,5 hours after this point. OK WE GET IT SHE IS NØT HAPPY. AAARGH!!!!I feel almost ashamed to say this but I only felt relieve when she finally dropped dead in the movie, cause we knew it was almost over.Horrible horrible horrible drag of a film, and it's up with the worst of the worst in my book.Definite NO GOBe warned!!