Overview
In the 17th-century medieval court of Cosimo de Medici III, a group of players perform a production outlining an apparent virgin birth in the French town of Mâcon and the people who exploit this ‘miracle’ for their own gain. What follows is a damning indictment of corruption in all strata of society, particularly the Church. Greenaway said that he wanted to present the difficult and graphic scenes in the film with ‘nothing glamorised and nothing safe’ – a response to what he saw as the more sanitised, safe representations of sex and violence elsewhere. As always, the artistic beauty of the piece is breathtaking, despite its difficult and deeply disturbing subject matter.
With thanks to Film4.
Director
Peter Greenaway
Featuring
Julia Ormond , Ralph Fiennes , Philip Stone , Jonathan Lacey and Don Henderson
Genres
Period drama
Certificate
BFI Guidance: Please note that this film features graphic scenes of rape and violence.
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Accessibility
CC
Period drama
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