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New French Extremity (New French Extremism or, informally, New French Extreme) is a term coined by ''
Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notabl ...
'' critic James Quandt for a collection of transgressive films by French directors at the turn of the 21st century. Also available o
the ArtForum website
.
The said filmmakers were also discussed by Jonathan Romney in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. Quandt associates
François Ozon François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers. His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...
,
Gaspar Noé Gaspar Noé (, ; born 27 December 1963) is an Argentine filmmaker based in Paris, France. He is the son of Argentine painter, writer, and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. In the early 1990s, Noé along with his wife Lucile Hadžihalilović were ...
,
Catherine Breillat Catherine Breillat (; born 13 July 1948) is a French filmmaker, novelist and professor of auteur cinema at the European Graduate School. In the film business for over 40 years, Catherine Breillat chooses to normalize previously taboo subjects in ...
, Bruno Dumont,
Claire Denis Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...
' '' Trouble Every Day'' (2001),
Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...
's ''
Intimacy An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, or ...
'' (2001),
Bertrand Bonello Bertrand Bonello (; born 11 September 1968) is a French film director, screenwriter, producer and composer. His background is in classical music, and he lives between Paris and Montreal. His work has also been associated with the New French Extre ...
's ''
The Pornographer ''The Pornographer'' (french: Le Pornographe) is a 2001 erotic drama film written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, who co-wrote the music score with Laurie Markovitch. The film features an explicit sex scene with two pornographic actors, Ovidie ...
'' (2001),
Marina de Van Marina de Van (; born 8 February 1971) is a French film director, screenwriter and actress. Her film, '' Don't Look Back'', was screened out of competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Her brother is , he appeared with her in the 1998 f ...
's '' In My Skin'' (2002),
Leos Carax Alex Christophe Dupont (born 22 November 1960), best known as Leos Carax (), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was '' Boy Meets Girl'' (198 ...
's ''
Pola X ''Pola X'' is a 1999 drama film directed by Leos Carax and starring Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva and Catherine Deneuve. The film is loosely based on the Herman Melville novel '' Pierre: or, The Ambiguities''. It revolves around a youn ...
'' (1999),
Philippe Grandrieux Philippe Grandrieux (born 10 November 1954) is a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Grandrieux was born in Saint-Étienne. He studied film at the INSAS (Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle) in Belgium. He exhi ...
's ''
Sombre ''Sombre'' is a 1998 French film directed by Philippe Grandrieux, starring Marc Barbé and Elina Löwensohn. The film was nominated for the Golden Leopard and won the C.I.C.A.E. Award - Special Mention at the Locarno International Film Festival ...
'' (1998) and '' La vie nouvelle'' (2002), Jean-Claude Brisseau's ''
Secret Things ''Secret Things'' (french: Choses secrètes) is a 2002 French erotic drama film written and directed by Jean-Claude Brisseau, starring Coralie Revel and Sabrina Seyvecou. The film is sometimes associated with the New French Extremity. '' Cahier ...
'' (2002),
Jacques Nolot Jacques Nolot (; born 31 August 1943) is a French actor, screenwriter and film director. Life and career Jacques Nolot was born on 31 August 1943, Marciac, Gers, a small village in Southwest France. A fragile child, Nolot was doted upon by his m ...
's '' Glowing Eyes'' (2002),
Virginie Despentes Virginie Despentes (; born 13 June 1969) is a French writer, novelist, and filmmaker. She is known for her work exploring gender, sexuality, and people who live in poverty or other marginalised conditions. Work Despentes' work is an inventory of ...
and
Coralie Trinh Thi Coralie Trinh Thi (born 11 April 1976) is a former pornographic actress, also known for writing and directing with Virginie Despentes the film ''Baise-moi'' (2000). During her career as a porn performer, she was generally just credited as Coral ...
's ''
Baise-moi ''Baise-moi'' is a 2000 French crime thriller film written and directed by Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi and starring Karen Lancaume and Raffaëla Anderson. It is based on the novel by Despentes, first published in 1993. The film rece ...
'' (2000), and
Alexandre Aja Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, (; born 7 August 1978) is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film ''High Tension, Haute ...
's ''
High Tension ''High Tension'' (French: ''Haute Tension'', ; released in the United Kingdom as ''Switchblade Romance'') is a 2003 French slasher film directed by Alexandre Aja, co-written with Grégory Levasseur, and starring Cécile de France and Maïwenn, ...
'' (2003) with the label. While Quandt intended the term as
pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
, many so labeled have produced critically acclaimed work. David Fear indicates that the lack of humanity beneath the horror represented in these films leads to their stigma, arguing that Bruno Dumont's ''Flanders'' (2006) "contains enough savage violence and sexual ugliness" to remain vulnerable to the New French Extremity tag, but "a soul also lurks underneath the shocks". Nick Wrigley indicates that Dumont was merely chastised for "letting everybody down" who expected him to be the heir to
Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring have l ...
. Jonathan Romney also associates the label with Olivier Assayas' ''
Demonlover ''Demonlover'' is a 2002 French neo-noir thriller film written and directed by Olivier Assayas, and starring Connie Nielsen, Charles Berling, Chloë Sevigny, and Gina Gershon. The plot focuses on the entanglement between various corporations vyin ...
'' (2002) and Christophe Honoré's ''
Ma mère ''Ma Mère'' ( en, My Mother, italic=yes) is a 2004 erotic drama film written and directed by Christophe Honoré, based on the posthumous 1966 novel of the same name by French author Georges Bataille. The film follows the incestuous relationship ...
'' (2004). Tim Palmer has also written about these films, describing them as constituting a "cinema of the body". Palmer has argued that such films reflect a large scale stylistic trajectory, a kind of avant-garde among like-minded directors, from Catherine Breillat to François Ozon, along with contemporary figures such as Marina de Van, Claire Denis, Dumont, Gaspar Noé, and many others. Palmer places this tendency within the complex ecosystem of French cinema, underlining the conceptual diversity and artistic scope in French cinema today.


History

Jonathan Romney traces a long line of (mainly French) painters and writers influencing these directors, beginning with the Marquis de Sade, and including
Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...
's 1866 ''
L'origine du monde ("The Origin of the World") is a picture painted in oil on canvas by the French artist Gustave Courbet in 1866. It is a close-up view of the vulva and abdomen of a naked woman, lying on a bed with legs spread. History Identity of the model Ar ...
'',
Comte de Lautréamont Comte de Lautréamont () was the ''nom de plume'' of Isidore Lucien Ducasse (4 April 1846 – 24 November 1870), a French poet born in Uruguay. His only works, ''Les Chants de Maldoror'' and ''Poésies'', had a major influence on modern arts ...
,
Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...
, Georges Bataille,
William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...
,
Michel Houellebecq Michel Houellebecq (; born Michel Thomas, 26 February 1956 or 1958) is a French author, known for his novels, poems and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer ...
, and
Marie Darrieussecq Marie Darrieussecq (born 3 January 1969, Bayonne) is a French writer. She is also a translator, and has practised as a psychoanalyst. Her books explore the unspoken and abandoned territories in literature. Her work is dense, marked by a constant ...
. He locates filmic predecessors in
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
and
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
,
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...
,
Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...
's '' Le weekend'', Andrzej Zulawski's ''
Possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...
'', and
Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...
. Quandt also alludes to
Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...
, Buñuel, Henri-Georges Clouzot,
Georges Franju Georges Franju (; 12 April 1912 – 5 November 1987) was a French filmmaker. He was born in Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine. Biography Early life Before working in French cinema, Franju held several different jobs. These included working for a ...
, Michelangelo Antonioni,
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
, Guy Debord,
Walerian Borowczyk Walerian Borowczyk (21 October 1923 – 3 February 2006) was an internationally known Polish film director described by film critics as a 'genius who also happened to be a pornographer'. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. Borowczyk set ...
, Godard, '' Psycho'', Zulawski, ''
Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...
'',
Jean Eustache Jean Eustache (; 30 November 1938 – 5 November 1981) was a French filmmaker. During his short career, he completed numerous short films, in addition to a pair of highly regarded features, of which the first, ''The Mother and the Whore'', is c ...
's '' La maman et la putain'', and
Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",
's '' A Nos Amours'' as models, but criticizes that the contemporary filmmakers so far lack the "power to shock an audience into consciousness". John Wray notes that some of these filmmakers show less affection for Hollywood films than their New Wave predecessors, and take after
Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent film, silent era to the end of the 1960s. ...
as well as Bresson. He also notes the long shots and enigmatic story-telling style of Dumont and the
Dardenne brothers Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (; born 21 April 1951) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954), collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together. The Dardennes ...
. The expanded term "The New Extremism", referring to European filmmakers such as
Lars von Trier Lars von Trier ('' né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nomina ...
,
Lukas Moodysson Karl Fredrik Lukas Moodysson (; born 17 January 1969) is a Swedish novelist, short story writer and film director. First coming to prominence as an ambitious poet in the 1980s, he had his big domestic and international breakthrough directing the ...
, and
Fatih Akın Fatih Akin (Turkish: Fatih Akın, born 25 August 1973) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear (award), Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival ...
, has subsequently appeared.John Wray,
Minister of Fear
, ''New York Times'', September 23, 2007. "... a new group of Francophone filmmakers has come to prominence in Europe, one less bedazzled by the Hollywood genre films that so influenced the New Wave directors than by the work of French auteurs like Jean Renoir and Robert Bresson. The Belgian-born Dardenne brothers, for example, favor dark, naturalistic studies of working-class life, while Bruno Dumont, a former professor of philosophy, makes violent and sexually explicit films that tend toward parable. But both share a preference for long, intricately composed shots, a resolutely anti-Hollywood aesthetic and a Bressonian aversion for spelling things out. Haneke feels at home in their company ..."


Themes and characteristics

While the New French Extremity refers to a stylistically diverse group of films and filmmakers, it has been described as " crossover between sexual decadence, bestial violence and troubling psychosis".MUBI, "New French Extremity + Influences" The New French Extremity movement has roots in art house and horror cinema.Smith, "Confronting Mortality..." Part 2 According to film blogger Matt Smith, this tradition has recently "shoved its way very consciously into rance'sgenre endeavors". According to Smith:
is new crop of horror is something altogether entirely different, concerned as much with gender identity as it is with sheer taboo-breaking of the screen images of bodies. The New French Extremity in particular is a wide-ranging set of films, encompassing art-house darlings like
Claire Denis Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...
and
Catherine Breillat Catherine Breillat (; born 13 July 1948) is a French filmmaker, novelist and professor of auteur cinema at the European Graduate School. In the film business for over 40 years, Catherine Breillat chooses to normalize previously taboo subjects in ...
(a filmmaker much more interested in sex than violence, or rather sex as violence) as well as those who might be deemed schlockmeisters by their detractors like
Xavier Gens Xavier Gens (born on in Dunkirk, France) is a French film director. Filmography Director *''Lights Out'' (TBA) *''Vanikoro'' (TBA) *'' Gangs of London'' (2020) Season 1 Episodes 6, 7 and 8 *''Budapest'' (2018) *'' Cold Skin'' (2017) *''The Cr ...
and
Alexandre Aja Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, (; born 7 August 1978) is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film ''High Tension, Haute ...
.Smith, "Confronting Mortality..." Part 1
Films belonging to the New French Extremity take a severe approach to depicting violence and sex.Palmer, 22 Smith identifies five films that he believes primarily comprise a new wave of horror in France: ''
High Tension ''High Tension'' (French: ''Haute Tension'', ; released in the United Kingdom as ''Switchblade Romance'') is a 2003 French slasher film directed by Alexandre Aja, co-written with Grégory Levasseur, and starring Cécile de France and Maïwenn, ...
'', ''
Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Welsh ...
'', ''
Frontier(s) ''Frontier(s)'' (french: Frontière(s)) is a 2007 French-Swiss independent horror film written and directed by Xavier Gens in his feature length debut and stars Karina Testa, Aurélien Wiik, Estelle Lefébure, and Samuel Le Bihan. It follows a ...
'', ''
Inside Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...
'' and ''
Martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
''. These films, he says, provide a "comprehensive snapshot of human anxieties about our bodies", both corporeally and socially. Within these works, Smith identifies two predominant themes: home invasion and, relatedly, a fear of
the Other In phenomenology, the terms the Other and the Constitutive Other identify the other human being, in their differences from the Self, as being a cumulative, constituting factor in the self-image of a person; as acknowledgement of being real; h ...
.
Pascal Laugier Pascal Laugier (; born 16 October 1971) is a French screenwriter and film director. Career Laugier is a former assistant to director Christophe Gans, having directed the "making-of" documentary about Gans' 2001 film, ''Brotherhood of the Wolf' ...
, director of the film ''Martyrs'', has said that his work is connected to American
torture porn A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the h ...
efforts like the ''Saw'' series and director
Eli Roth Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, having directed the films '' Cabin Fever'' (2003) and ''Hoste ...
's ''
Hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...
'', though he likens ''Martyrs'' to an "anti-''Hostel''".Graham, "Art meets gorno..."Kermode, "How much pain..." What makes his film different from its American counterpart, he says, is that ''Martyrs'' is about pain rather than torture.Carnevale, IndieLondon - Pascal Laugier interview Per
Laugier Laugier is a French surname, and may refer to: * Laugier of Nice (c. 950–1032), co-lord of Nice. * Léonce Laugier, Governor General for Inde française in the Second French Colonial Empire under Third Republic * ''M. Laugier'' may refer to one ...
:
My film is very clear about what it says about human pain and human suffering. ..The film is only really about the nature and the meaning of human suffering. I mean, the pain we all feel on an everyday basis - in a symbolic way. The film doesn't talk about torture - it talks about the pain".
Film scholar Steve Jones has also charted the relationship between New Extremism and torture porn based on their shared themes and characteristics.Jones, Steve (2013) ''Torture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw'' (Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan), p.19


Cinematic roots


Body horror

Although films belonging to the New French Extremity exhibit traits representative of a wide range of horror subgenres—including slashers, revenge films and home invasion films—the
body horror Body horror or biological horror is a subgenre of horror that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body. These violations may manifest through aberrant sex, mutations, mutilation, zombification, ...
subgenre has been particularly influential. Smith identifies body horror as one of the New French Extremity's most significant thematic antecedents, citing the early work of Canadian filmmaker
David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
as a key influence on the movement. He calls attention to the collective focus of the New French Extremity on human corporeality, specifically its destruction and violation:
Xavier Gens Xavier Gens (born on in Dunkirk, France) is a French film director. Filmography Director *''Lights Out'' (TBA) *''Vanikoro'' (TBA) *'' Gangs of London'' (2020) Season 1 Episodes 6, 7 and 8 *''Budapest'' (2018) *'' Cold Skin'' (2017) *''The Cr ...
, a director associated with the New French Extremity, has loosely contextualized his work within the body horror tradition.Bloody Disgusting, "Interview..." He cites David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of '' The Fly'' as an influence on his film ''
Frontier(s) ''Frontier(s)'' (french: Frontière(s)) is a 2007 French-Swiss independent horror film written and directed by Xavier Gens in his feature length debut and stars Karina Testa, Aurélien Wiik, Estelle Lefébure, and Samuel Le Bihan. It follows a ...
'', saying: "To me, ''Frontiere(s)'' is a love letter to the genre movie. There's a lot of reference to ''
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, w ...
'' and ''The Fly'', and to many others..." Relatedly, film scholar Linda Williams has written about the so-called "body genres"—also known as "gross" genres or "genres of excess"—a label that includes pornography, horror and melodrama.Williams 1991 - Re-published in Braudy and Cohen 2009, 602, 604 Body genre films "promise to be sensational, to give our bodies an actual physical jolt. .. eir displays of sensations...are on the edge of respectable", which is what attracts audiences to them.Williams 1991 - Re-published in Braudy and Cohen 2009, 602 Such films are necessarily spectacle-driven, depicting human bodies overcome by intense physical or emotional sensations (e.g., pleasure, terror, sadness). Body genre films are also marked by the fact that they induce within viewers an involuntary mimicry of the emotions or sensations portrayed onscreen—for example: pleasure in porn, terror in horror or sadness in melodrama.Williams 1991 - Re-published in Braudy and Cohen 2009, 605 Williams has widely featured the work of New French Extremity filmmaker
Catherine Breillat Catherine Breillat (; born 13 July 1948) is a French filmmaker, novelist and professor of auteur cinema at the European Graduate School. In the film business for over 40 years, Catherine Breillat chooses to normalize previously taboo subjects in ...
in her discussion of body genres, particularly Breillat's 1999 film, ''
Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
''.Williams 2001


Exploitation cinema

The New French Extremity bears certain thematic comparisons to the American
exploitation cinema An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or Exploitation fiction, lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical ...
of the 1970s. USC film scholar
Tania Modleski Tania Modleski (born 1949) is an American feminist scholar and cultural critic, Professor of English at the University of Southern California. Modleski's ''Loving with a Vengeance'', "to begin a feminist analysis of women's reading", considered thr ...
notes that much of what distinguished the American exploitation movement from the Hollywood-dominated horror films that preceded it was " xploitation films'unprecedented assault on all that bourgeois culture is supposed to cherish--like the ideological apparatuses of the family and the school".Modleski 1986 - Re-published in Braudy and Cohen 2009, 620 Films like ''
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, w ...
'' and ''
The Brood ''The Brood'' is a 1979 Canadian psychological body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, and Art Hindle. Its plot follows a man and his mentally ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered b ...
'', she says, were at the time noteworthy for their "adversarial relation to contemporary culture and society". In much the same way, many films belonging to the New French Extremity have been explicit in their criticism and rejection of bourgeois ideals. Films like ''
Martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
'', ''
Inside Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...
'' and '' Frontiere(s)'', for example, have been noted for their subversive attitudes toward dominant political, social and cultural orders. Both exploitation cinema and the New French Extremity are characterized in large part by their transgressive attitudes towards depicting violence and sex.


Political controversy

While films associated with the New French Extremity are unified by their transgressive content, critics and scholars have also highlighted their tendency to incorporate social and political themes.Barry, "Finding The French..."JohnsonPalmer According to film scholar Tim Palmer, "
he New French Extremity He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
offers incisive social critiques, portraying contemporary society as isolating, unpredictably horrific and threatening". Writer and film scholar Jon Towlson says that "the New French Extremity movement, iccan... be seen most significantly as a response to the rise of right-wing extremism in France during the last ten years..., a response that filmmakers are in the process of working through".Towlson, "New French Extremity" Still, films of the New French Extremity do not appear to reflect a unified social or political platform. Some have been noted to include politically progressive commentaryFor example, "The Transfiguration of..." while others have been called
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
and
fascistic Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
.See, for example, Towlson, "New French Extremity"; Knegt, IndieWire - Gaspar Noe interview Critics disagree as to whether the sensational nature of many New French Extremity films disqualifies them as legitimate expressions of social, political and philosophical commentary. Some critics and scholars have judged the movement's treatment of such themes positively; others have dismissed it as tacked on, miscalculated or even offensive.See, for example, Ridley Several films associated with the New French Extremity have generated significant controversy upon their premieres.Palmer, 27 '' Trouble Every Day'' and ''
Irréversible ''Irréversible'' () is a 2002 French experimental psychological thriller film written and directed by Gaspar Noé. Starring Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel, the plot depicts the events of a tragic night in Paris as two men ...
'', which respectively debuted at the 2001 and 2002
Cannes film festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
s, were noteworthy for prompting widespread walkouts among audience members. ''
Martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
'' was received similarly upon its debut at Cannes 2008, with audience members reportedly walking out, fainting, vomiting and bursting into tears.Jones, "Martyrs"Griffiths, Eye for Film - Pascal Laugier interviewTurek, Shock Till You Drop - Pascal Laugier interview


''Frontiere(s)''

In a positive review of
Xavier Gens Xavier Gens (born on in Dunkirk, France) is a French film director. Filmography Director *''Lights Out'' (TBA) *''Vanikoro'' (TBA) *'' Gangs of London'' (2020) Season 1 Episodes 6, 7 and 8 *''Budapest'' (2018) *'' Cold Skin'' (2017) *''The Cr ...
' ''
Frontier(s) ''Frontier(s)'' (french: Frontière(s)) is a 2007 French-Swiss independent horror film written and directed by Xavier Gens in his feature length debut and stars Karina Testa, Aurélien Wiik, Estelle Lefébure, and Samuel Le Bihan. It follows a ...
'', ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' film critic
Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...
notes the film's exploitative tendencies while also crediting its "amusingly glib and timely political twist".Dargis, "After Making It Out..." In the film, a group of French-Arab youths flees a riotous Paris following the election of a far-right government, only to be pursued by a murderous family of militant white fascists. "There's enough blood in the unrated french horror film ''Frontiere(s)'' to satiate even the most ravenous gore hounds", Dargis says. "The real surprise here is that this creepy, contemporary gross-out also has some ideas, visual and otherwise, wedged among its sanguineous drips...". While Dargis ultimately regards the film's political convictions in a positive light, she notes that certain scenes veer "dangerously close to the unpardonable, with images that evoke the Holocaust too strongly". Like Dargis, ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' critic Jim Ridley acknowledged ''Frontiere(s)''s political themes.Ridley, "Xavier Gens's..." Ridley, however, is less favorable of the movie, describing it as "vigorously art-directed torture porn". Comparing it to other films in the New French Extremity (specifically ''
High Tension ''High Tension'' (French: ''Haute Tension'', ; released in the United Kingdom as ''Switchblade Romance'') is a 2003 French slasher film directed by Alexandre Aja, co-written with Grégory Levasseur, and starring Cécile de France and Maïwenn, ...
'', ''
Sheitan ' (; ''devils'' or ''demons''), singular: (شَيْطَان) are evil spirits in Islam, inciting humans (and jinn) to sin by "whispering" (وَسْوَسَة, “waswasah”) to their hearts (قَلْب ''qalb''). Folklore suggests that they a ...
'' and ''
Inside Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...
''), he says ''Frontiere(s)'' takes "the most bluntly political tack yet." It is "both hysterical and muddled", even when interpreted as satire. Director
Xavier Gens Xavier Gens (born on in Dunkirk, France) is a French film director. Filmography Director *''Lights Out'' (TBA) *''Vanikoro'' (TBA) *'' Gangs of London'' (2020) Season 1 Episodes 6, 7 and 8 *''Budapest'' (2018) *'' Cold Skin'' (2017) *''The Cr ...
was himself vocal about the film's intended socio-political message. Asked in one interview about his inspiration for ''Frontiere(s)'', Gens said: "It came from the events in 2002, when we had the presidential elections
n France N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
There was an extreme right party in the second round. That was the most horrible day of my life. The idea of ''Frontiere(s)'' came to me then...".Amner, Eye for Film - Xavier Gens interview


''Martyrs''

Pascal Laugier Pascal Laugier (; born 16 October 1971) is a French screenwriter and film director. Career Laugier is a former assistant to director Christophe Gans, having directed the "making-of" documentary about Gans' 2001 film, ''Brotherhood of the Wolf' ...
's ''
Martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
'' was the subject of similar contention upon its debut at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, where early reporting highlighted viewers' divergent reactions to the film's violence and socio-philosophical themes. Anton Bitel of Britain's ''
Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, i ...
'' praised the film, saying it "eludes the 'torture porn' label precisely by questioning what those terms might mean, what appeal they might possibly have, and what questions - fundamental, even metaphysical questions - they might answer".Bitel, "Martyrs" Jamie Graham of ''
Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched ...
'' called ''Martyrs'' "one of the most extreme pictures ever made, and one of the best horror movies of the last decade". He also likened it to "a torture-porn movie for ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
'' readers", one that owed as much to
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
and
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
as to its genre contemporaries. By contrast, writer and film scholar Jon Towlson says ''Martyrs'' "political intentions are less overt, more ambivalent and ultimately nihilistic" compared to its contemporaries. "Putting the audience 'through it,'" he says, "is the film's raison d'etre" Commenting on the controversy surrounding his film to IndieLondon, director Laugier said he felt "insulted" by many critics' misinterpretations of ''Martyrs''.


New wave of French horror

Some films considered as part of the New French Extremity movement rework elements of the horror genre. Contemporary French horror films with a similar sensibility include '' Trouble Every Day'', ''
Sheitan ' (; ''devils'' or ''demons''), singular: (شَيْطَان) are evil spirits in Islam, inciting humans (and jinn) to sin by "whispering" (وَسْوَسَة, “waswasah”) to their hearts (قَلْب ''qalb''). Folklore suggests that they a ...
'', ''
Them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Welsh ...
'', ''
High Tension ''High Tension'' (French: ''Haute Tension'', ; released in the United Kingdom as ''Switchblade Romance'') is a 2003 French slasher film directed by Alexandre Aja, co-written with Grégory Levasseur, and starring Cécile de France and Maïwenn, ...
'', ''
Frontier(s) ''Frontier(s)'' (french: Frontière(s)) is a 2007 French-Swiss independent horror film written and directed by Xavier Gens in his feature length debut and stars Karina Testa, Aurélien Wiik, Estelle Lefébure, and Samuel Le Bihan. It follows a ...
'' and ''
Inside Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...
''. The Belgian film '' Calvaire'' has also been associated with this trend. Pascal Laugier, director of the controversial horror film ''Martyrs'', disagrees with the idea of there being a horror revival in France: Laugier does, however, acknowledge the existence of a broader wave of new European horror. He notes Spain, France and England as contributors.


Legacy and influence

The New French Extremity movement has influenced filmmakers in other countries, particularly in Europe, prompting some to suggest that a greater movement of European Extremity is afoot.Roxborough, "Sicker, Darker..."AintItCoolNews - Pascal Laugier interviewNayman, CinemaScope - Ben Wheatley interviewHenderson, CBS, "Movie Blog..." Recent acclaimed films are also influenced the movement, after the defunction began in 2010, such as '' Climax'' (2018) and ''
Titane ''Titane'' (, "Titanium") is a 2021 body horror drama film, drama film written and directed by Julia Ducournau. The French-Belgian co-production stars Agathe Rousselle in her feature film debut as Alexia, a woman who, after being injured in a ...
'' (2021).


See also

*
Art horror Art horror or arthouse horror (sometimes called elevated horror) is a sub-genre of both horror films and art-films. It explores and experiments with the artistic uses of horror. Characteristics Art-horror films tend to rely on atmosphere bui ...
*
Kitchen sink realism Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as "angry young men" w ...
*
Theatre of Cruelty The Theatre of Cruelty (french: Théâtre de la Cruauté, also french: Théâtre cruel) is a form of theatre generally associated with Antonin Artaud. Artaud, who was briefly a member of the surrealist movement, outlined his theories in '' The The ...
*
Extreme cinema Extreme cinema is a subgenre used for films distinguished by its use of excessive sex and violence, and such various extreme nature as mutilation and torture. It recently specializes in genre film, mostly both horror and drama. Reception The r ...
*
Cinema of Transgression __notoc__ The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a New York City-based underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of artists using shock value and black humor in their films. Key players in ...


References

Notes Bibliography
AintItCoolNews
- Interview with Pascal Laugier (Director of Martyrs) *Amner, D. (October 24, 2007). Horror's new Frontiere(s)
Eye for Film
Access date: April 7, 2012. *Augustine, S., "The 8 Most Disturbing Films of The New Wave of French Horror"
Green Cine
June 17, 2008. *Barry, R. (February 12, 2012). Finding the French Gothic: The Monk Reviewed
The Quietus
Access date: March 19, 2012. *Bitel, A. (Date unknown). Martyrs - Review
Film4
Access date: April 27, 2012. *"Bloody-Disgusting.com Interviwe ic- Frontiere(s): Writer/Director Xavier Gens.
BloodyDisgusting
Access date: March 19, 2012. *Carnevale, R. (Date unknown.) Martyrs - Pascal Laugier interview
indieLondon
Access date: April 27, 2012. *Dargis, M. (May 9, 2008). After Making It Out of Paris, Finding There's No Escape - Frontiere(s) (2007) Movie Review

Access date: March 19, 2012

- Interview with Pascal Laugier (Director of Martyrs) *Fear, D
Time Out New York
Issue 607. May 17–23, 2007. *Graham, J. (March 16, 2009). Martyrs - Art meets gorno...
Total Film
Access date: April 17, 2012. *Griffiths, L. (March 26, 2009). This is hardcore...
Eye for Film
Access date: April 20, 2012. *Henderson, E. (April 21, 2012). Movie Blog: MSPIFF, Day 10: 'Memorial Day,' 'Kill List'
''CBS Minnesota''
Access date: April 25, 2012). *Horeck T., Kendall, T., and Barrow, S., "The New Extremism: Contemporary European Cinema", conference held at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, 24–25 April 2009. *Johnson, B. (Date unknown). Disavowing ''The Isle'': Masochism and New Extremity
Keele University - Academia.edu
Access date: April 25, 2012. *Jones, A. (Date unknown). Martyrs - 2008

Access date: April 20, 202. *Kermode, M. (March 30, 2009). How much pain can you take

Access date: April 7, 2012. *Knegt, P. (December 12, 2009). Decade: Gaspar Noe on "Irreversible.
IndieWire
Access date: April 27, 2012. *Nayman, A. (Date unknown). Interview , Hammer Horror: Bill Wheatley's Kill List
Cinema Scope
Accessed April 25, 2012. *"New French Extremity + Influences"
MUBI.com
Access date: March 19, 2012. *Palmer, T. (2006). Style and Sensation in the Contemporary French Cinema of the Body. Journal of Film and Video, Fall 2006, 58(3), pp. 22–32. *Palmer, T. (2011). Brutal Intimacy: Analyzing Contemporary French Cinema, Wesleyan University Press, Middleton CT. . *Quandt, J. (February 2004). "Flesh & Blood: Sex and violence in recent French cinema"
Artforum
Also available on the ArtForum website (requires registration). *Ridley, J. (May 6, 2008). Xavier Gens' Frontiere(s)
The Village Voice
Access date: March 19, 2012. *Romney, J

September 12, 2004. *Roxborough, S. (February 20, 2011). Sicker, Darker, More Twisted: The New European Horror Film at Berlin
The Hollywood Reporter
Access date: April 25, 2012. *Schaefer, Jerome P. (2015). An Edgy Realism. Film Theoretical Encounters with Dogma 95, New French Extremity, and the Shaky-Cam Horror Film, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne. *Smith, M. (June 6, 2011). Confronting Mortality: "The New French Extremity", the ''Hostel'' Series and Outdated Terminology
''The Split Screen''
(Part 1 of 3). Access date: March 19, 2012. *Smith, M. (June 28, 2011). Confronting Mortality: "The New French Extremity", the ''Hostel'' Series and Outdated Terminology
''The Split Screen''
(Part 2 of 3). Access date: March 19, 2012. *Towlson, J. (September 5, 2011). New French Extremity

Access date: March 19, 2012. *"The Transfiguration of Horror: Pascal Laugier's Martyrs and the Violence of the Real.

Access date: April 27, 2012. *Turek, R. (June 22, 2008). Exclusive Interview: Martyrs Director Pascal Laugier
Shock Till You Drop
Access date: April 17, 2012. *Williams, L. (1991). Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess. Film Quarterly, 44(4), pp. 2–12. Re-published in Braudy, L. and Cohen, M. (2009). Film Theory & Criticism, New York: Oxford University Press. *Williams, L. (2001). Cinema and the Sex Act. Cineast, Winter 2001, 27(1). *Wray, J., "Minister of Fear"

September 23, 2007. *Wrigley, N., "The Polarizing, Magnificent Cinema of Bruno Dumont"

April 2004. Further reading * * {{film genres Cinema of France Movements in cinema Obscenity controversies in film Body horror 2000s in French cinema 2010s in French cinema Horror films by genre French horror films 2020s in French cinema