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Just watched this last night, and I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. There are spoilers to the story in this post, but only to explore themes and ideas. This isn't a movie full of twists, but it's still best to go in blind. You are warned. The movie doesn't really work with the audience, and just expects them to hang on, which is such a daring leap of faith. The art style is beautiful and the animation, when it wants to be, is impressive and fluid and wonderful. The story doesn't start, the animation doesn't really begin, until the rape, which has a horrific animation, but it's also one of the best stylishly done sex scenes, consensual or not. I wanted to think the movie is pornographic, but it really isn't. The sexuality is graphic, but not titillating. Also, despite the constant threat/execution of rape, the movie's story is surprisingly pro-women and feminist. From the start: Jeanne is based in a boring, "safe" status quo of having found a respectable (and honorably poor) man who loves her (when there are zero stakes, mind you) complete to her society's requirements. Her reward for this is the Establishment itself (in the form of a skeletal demonic leader and his wife and his followers, most notably a priest who looks like a Western-inspired Jesus Christ) punishing her with rape, despite her being a virgin. It's strange that they might use the idea of ritual defloration as a it's introductory plot device, despite it's heavy presence in history. Her husband does not fight, he only pleads and then walks away when he is denied. He is physically, mentally and emotionally impotent, ready to be make a cuckold by any powers that be. He is not a character that understands personal morality being distinct from societal morality or spiritual morality. Let's talk about religion. The bad guy is a Baron. His right hand man (besides his wife), his main moral companion, is a catholic priest that looks like a Western white Jesus. Most of Jeanne's suffering is by the Baron's orders, but they are inspired by his followers. Jeanne's initial rape comes at the baron's wife's orders, as a mockery/disdain for Jeanne's purity. The baron's wife attacks Jeanne several times, out of jealousy for at first purity, but then beauty, status and power. The baron's wife's Page hurts Jean out of misplaced love/lust/frustration towards the baron's wife. The Catholic priest, being a "conduit of God", manages to come up with arguably more torturous means for Jeanne, to please the Baron and his wife. It is only when the Baron, having lost his wife and Page and followers, exhausted by a pointless war, his credibility as a leader and is hearing mumbles of a possibly mutiny, asks for Jeanne's death. The Christianity in this movie is the basic vein for all of the xenophobia towards Jeanne and claims of her being a witch. There is actually zero positive comments for Christianity, which is more ironic, since Jeanne is a deconstructed Christ figure herself. Let's talk about the Devil. Satan, by this movie's standards, is a pretty good guy. Hilariously good, despite the pretenses. He is also an anthropomorphic penis (but can also turn into ghostly sperm). Jeanna is raped and immediately abandoned, emotionally, by her husband. For a movie that uses sex as a plot and theme vehicle, there is nary a mention of their sex life. Who, in Jeanne's time of need, of violently entering adulthood and learning of the world's cruelty? The Devil. Not only that, but he is cute, seductive, and playful. He makes Jeanna feel good. This is repeated throughout. Jeanne is abandoned by her husband, ostracized by her village, abused by her peers, tortured by her government, and each time is rescued by the Devil, who is bigger every time, more seductive but also more threatening. It is important to note that the Devil never rapes Jeanne. He comes to her when she is needed most, he is forceful, for sure, but each time Jeanne is given a glimpse of hope and happiness (sometimes orgasmically). One of the most important parts of the story comes when Jeanne having escaped being captured by the royal family, finds herself in a valley (of shadow and death?). Satan admits that he is the cause of suffering (not because he actually causes it, mind you, but because he doesn't stop it). He always grants Jeanne the power of individuality, of self-confidence, of liberation. It is the xenophobic peers that cause Jeanne's suffering. It is important that they call Jeanne a witch before she even makes a deal with the devil, which she does for her husband's well-being. It is in the valley, when Jeanne has been punished by everyone that she has helped, that is victimized for being good for society, that she turns to the only savior she has, the Devil. And her reward? Ecstasy. There are only two positive sex scenes in the movie: Jeanne's ultimate union with Satan, which is so ecstatically orgasmic, that is transcends space, time, logic, and gives us the most visually intriguing moment of the movie (the sex scene is almost like a collage of images that begin in the meta-realm of the movie's production, the early 1970's and quickly digresses all the way back to the movie's present, continuing into prehistoric ages, and eventually the world's beginning). It is a moment that shows that sex is also the birth of the world, that it will exist throughout time, as has sin, pain, society, and the devil. The sex scene with the devil is arguably the most human moment, as it addresses at a break-neck speed, human accomplishment, the drive for life, and that pleasure can be found. During this scene, Jeanne also swells up, notably in the breasts, hips, buttocks, as if she's grown pregnant with the world. Also important to note is that most of the symbolism of this scene is based on Western ideas, heavily emphasizing the counterculture movement in America during the 60's. Anyway, Jeanne and the devil have sex, and Jeanne is fully liberated. By creating a union with the devil, she is fully liberated from the pain of her world. She is more beautiful than ever, in every way (aesthetically, emotionally, mentally, etc.) So much so that she feels it is a punishment, when arguably it's the best thing that happens to her, because the society begins to bend around this change, they too want liberation (which comes in another hallucinatory orgy). It is only after Jeanne has become an actual Witch that society accepts her, or more appropriately, attempt to be like her. It is only after she is a Witch that she has sex with her husband, who she forgives in the movie's second positive sex scene, and the only mention of Jeanne and Jean having sex. Jeanne effectively becomes a symbol of feminism. She overcomes the brutality of the men in her society. The Page comes to her help to seduce the Baron's wife, which she does by having the Baron's wife embrace her humanity and sexuality, leading to their death. She and her husband share the same name, they are dualities of the same character, but Jeanne, despite receiving everything worse than her husband, manages to push forward and become a better person, where her husband foolishly never makes a decision for himself, becomes obsessed with his failure and suffering despite his wife clearly suffering more than him, becomes a drunk, loses a hand, allows himself to be victimized, and stands up for his rights when it's clearly too late: his moment of realization is after Jeanne's already been set aflame on her cross of martyrdom, and he is, again, rendered impotent by more phallic objects, this time a series of spears that penetrate him. She liberates her village from oppression countless times, and eventually they get it, they're inspired to live for themselves, even if it means dying. The movie ends on a strange message of The French Revolution as well, with an illustration of a woman, breasts bared from a torn shirt, waving the French flag in battle (a famous painting I don't know). There's a strange mix of spirituality. As mentioned, there are many moments where Jeanne is made into a Christ figure, or that idea is taken differently. Jeanne, like Jesus, confronts the devil before their death in a valley, but instead of denying the devil, Jeanne embraces it. She performs miracles, but they come from the earth's vegetation. She promotes freedom, but it's a freedom from the establishment, a liberation of sexuality and personal freedom and expression. She dies on a cross, but also as a Witch, also with forgiveness to her captors. She inspires the multitude that sees her die, she is reborn through them. Jeanne is arguably the only Christian in the entire movie, despite her deals with the Devil. She is, in every way, doing what's right for the people and herself, understanding that happiness isn't really the goal, but a side-effect for doing what's right. Society hates her for basically wanting human rights. There's also a strange sense of Buddhism, as well: karma plays a role in the story, and the world we are shown is ambivalently cruel, that everyone suffers, and that the only redeemable path is a personal journey for a personal truth. Jeanne forgives everyone that hurts her. This is probably my biggest complaint: Rape isn't great, even if it's served with the intent and purpose of expressing important themes and ideas of humanism; it's not fun to be confronted with it, especially in our entertainment. And Belladonna does not shy away from this story component, and arguably manages to make artistic strides in this violent storytelling. There are some wonderfully animated moments that I would love to share with friends, but I'm not going to be That Guy and insist on how great the rape cartoon is, despite the context and intention of the piece.That said, this movie is still insanely relevant, beautiful, heartbreaking, but also spiritual, human, and ultimately optimistic in it's message. Similar titles: The VVitch, The Vegetarian by Han Kang
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Dec 27, 2016 15:44
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 07:02 |
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Spatulater bro! posted:I finally got around to watching this on Shudder. I adored it. This style of animation - this lurid, abstract, unpredictable, beautiful style - is right up my alley. Just when I thought the film was finished wowing me, it wowed me again. And again. And again. I was absolutely dazzled. This is a bold, unique piece of art, and one of the most fascinating and gorgeous animated films I've seen. I was pretty much sold on the animation during the beginning, when the rape was first symbolized by her being ripped in half. There's graphic, there's pornographic, but that moment, despite it's horror and disturbing content, is animated so well, and the symbolism is simple, effective, and great.
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Dec 28, 2016 14:36
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