Romance

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Romance

R

Released Oct 1, 1999

1h 26m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

49%

Tomatometer

35 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

A woman (Caroline Ducey) has several affairs, trying to spark the interest of her lover (Sagamore Stévenin), a self-absorbed, male model.

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Critics Consensus

Romance is a slim look into a woman's sexual psyche, with sex scenes that slightly excite while exploring human emotions.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

a difficult film to love - perhaps as difficult as Marie finds it to love Paul - although there is something in its exploration of gender norms, deviant desires and the split between body and mind that remains compelling to the finish.

Jul 15, 2019

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

Romance can't be easily shrugged off. Breillat and her brave actors take us places we haven't been. For the audience, as well as Marie, it's a journey that has few signposts.

Mar 6, 2018

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The film has an icy fascination. Perhaps it is a test of how men and women relate to eroticism on the screen.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

It cries out for interpretation, but then it doesn’t trust us to do it — the movie helpfully interprets itself at every turn.

Rated: C-

Sep 2, 2022

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Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

Breillat is less interested in the sex acts than their deeper meaning.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 28, 2009

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Porn has never been so sleep-inducing.

Rated: 0/5

Nov 15, 2007

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Sean N

Romance is intense and raw. It follows Marie, a woman exploring desire outside her dull relationship. The film doesn’t sugarcoat anything, showing sexuality and emotions in a very real, sometimes uncomfortable way. Caroline Ducey is strong as Marie, and the whole thing feels challenging but honest. It makes you think about desire, freedom, and how we judge people’s choices.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/21/25

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Brent E

I found it to be a fascinating exploration on sex as a diversion as opposed to a attempt at intimacy. A very interesting perspective.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

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william d

It seems there are many modern movies dealing with sex, often quite explicitly. I'm fine with that, but why do the characters have to be so emotionally tortured by it, or at best, feel the need to pontificate on it so extensively? Doesn't anybody just enjoy sex any more? I suppose the film makers believe that if their characters enjoy themselves they've crossed the line into pornography. Better to have them torturing themselves over it in order to keep the "art house" designation. I just find it boring.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Our heroine hates the men who bop her and loves the man who won't bop her but once and then barely but she gets pregnant. But she hates him too because he wouldn't bop her but the once. So she turns on the gas in their apartment before she goes to the hospital and he dies at the same time she gives birth. This movie is a deep meditation on the vicissitudes of love and death from a woman's point of view that somehow misses being profound. And a romance it most certainly is not.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

Bitch doesn't shut the fuck up, nor does her supervisor. Hot, really nice ass for skinny girl. Not as much action as I wanted

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

"I gave my son his father's name. If someone up there counts souls, then we are even."

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Catherine Breillat

Director

Caroline Ducey

Marie

Sagamore Stévenin

Paul

François Berléand

Robert

Rocco Siffredi

Paolo

Catherine Breillat

Writer

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Synopsis

A woman (Caroline Ducey) has several affairs, trying to spark the interest of her lover (Sagamore Stévenin), a self-absorbed, male model.

Director: Catherine Breillat
Producer: Jean-François Lepetit
Screenwriter: Catherine Breillat
Distributor: Trimark Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.3M
Runtime: 1h 26m
Sound Mix: Surround

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