Anatomie de l'enfer (2004)

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Writer:

Catherine Breillat (novel)

Release Date:

28 January 2004 (France)

Genre:

Adult | Drama

Plot:

A woman employs a gay man to spend four nights at her house to watch her when she's "unwatchable".

Plot Keywords:

Gay | Suicide Attempt | Mouse | Feeding Newborn Bird | Bathroom

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Amira Casar	...	The woman
Rocco Siffredi	...	The man
Alexandre Belin	...	Blow-job lover 1
Manuel Taglang	...	Blow-job lover 2
Jacques Monge	...	Man in bar
Claudio Carvalho	...	Boy with bird
Carolina Lopes	...	Little girl playing doctor
Diego Rodrigues	...	Little boy playing doctor
João Marques	...	Little boy playing doctor
Bruno Fernandes	...	Little boy playing doctor
Maria Edite Moreira	...	Pharmacist 1
Maria João Santos	...	Pharmacist 2
Pauline Hunt	...	Amira Casar's stand-in
Catherine Breillat	...	Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Catherine Breillat

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Catherine Breillat		novel "Pornocratie"

Produced by
António da Cunha Telles	....	executive producer
Natércia Fonseca	....	assistant producer
Jean-François Lepetit	....	producer

Cinematography by
Giorgos Arvanitis
Guillaume Schiffman

Film Editing by
Pascale Chavance

Casting by
Valente Producoes

Production Design by
Jean-Marie Milon
Pedro Sá Santos

Art Direction by
Pedro Garcia
Paula Szabo

Costume Design by
Valérie Guégan
Betty Martins
Catherine Meillan
Sanine Schlumberger

Makeup Department
Dominique Colladant	....	special makeup effects artist
Ana Ferreira	....	key hair stylist
Ana Lorena	....	key makeup artist
Fabien Tuizat	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Vicente Coentro	....	unit manager
Philippe Delest	....	production manager
Luis Goncalves	....	unit manager
Catherine Leroux	....	production manager
Miguel Stocker	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Rita Benis	....	second assistant director
Michaël Weill	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Fabienne Couvreur	....	head painter

Sound Department
Christophe Bourreau	....	foley artist
Christophe Bourreau	....	sound effects editor
Emmanuel Croset	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steven Ghouti	....	adr mixer
Filipe Gonçalves	....	assistant sound
Sylvain Lasseur	....	sound editor
Bertrand Lenclos	....	assistant sound editor
Jean-Max Morise	....	foley artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Joaquim Amaral	....	key grip
Paulo Jorge Antunes	....	Steadicam operator
Susana Gomes	....	assistant camera
Arnaldo Junior	....	electrician
Miguel Malheiros	....	assistant camera
Jacques Monge	....	Steadicam operator

Casting Department
David Santini	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
Frédéric Barbe	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Fátima Ribeiro	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• CB Films
• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Flach Film
• Flach Pyramide International

Distributors

• Atlantis Entertainment (2005) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Potential Films (2004) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Tartan (2004) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Atlantis Entertainment (2004) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Atlantis Entertainment (2004) (Hungary) (all media)
• Atlantis Entertainment (2004) (Slovakia) (all media)
• Irfan Film (2005) (Turkey) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Mongrel Media (2004) (Canada) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2004) (USA) (all media)
• Palisades-Tartan Acquisitions (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (all media)
• Rézo Films
• Sharada Distribuzione
• TLA Releasing (2005-????) (USA) (DVD)
• Tartan Video USA (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Anatomy of Hell (Australia) (International: English title) (festival title) (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

77 min | Canada:87 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | South Korea:Limited | Australia:R | Canada:R (Ontario) | Czech Republic:18 | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Italy:VM18 | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Ericeira, Portugal

Company:

CB Films

Trivia:

Director Catherine Breillat wrote 'the man' especially for Rocco Siffredi.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Extremes (2007) (TV)

Interesting as always ... but not one of Breillat's best.

I am a great fan of Catherine Breillat. I have seen many of her films now and have enjoyed each and every one. She is an interesting film maker, always provocative, always prepared to push the boundaries of cinema. 'Anatomy of Hell' tho left me somewhat bored. It seems to me that with each new film, Breillat is becoming ever more compartmentalized. Here, her mission is to specifically explore the female sex organ and the affect this may (or may not have) on the male sexual and emotional psyche. The problem is, since she's chosen such a narrow subject (no pun intended) to examine, there really isn't enough material here to sustain an entire film ... even one with a brief running time as this (approx 80 mins).

Another downside also is that the film is totally reliant on the 2 leads, and frankly, Siffredi is just not up to the task. On the other hand, as always, Breillat casts an interesting female lead. Amira Casar, with her porcelain white skin, her voluptuous curves and her pitch black hair certainly holds ones interest. I get the feeling Breillat, when making the female casting choice, looks for younger and more glamorous versions of herself -- you'll rarely see a blonde.

There are the trademark 'pluses' of Breillat in this film tho. Her thoughtfully conceived set design for example ... her minimal editing .. sparse use of lighting. These all add up to good story telling techniques in my book. But alas, there is just not enough substance to the narrative to make this a good film.

I really do wonder where she is going to go from here ... ?