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Anatomy of Hell

Play trailer Poster for Anatomy of Hell Released Jan 23, 2004 1h 17m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
26% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 37% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
After attempting suicide, a young woman makes a startling proposition and pays a homosexual man to observe her naked body at her isolated home.
Anatomy of Hell

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Ponderous, pretentious, and -- considering the subject matter -- dull.

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Critics Reviews

View All (35) Critics Reviews
Nathan Lee Film Comment Magazine Her latest, Anatomy of Hell, doesn't so much straddle the fine line between art and porn as balance, bleeding, on the knife's edge between trenchant and pretentious. Jun 28, 2013 Full Review Eric Henderson Slant Magazine The ultimate lesson being taught isn't how homosexuality can be transposed to kinky hetero sex games. Rated: 3/4 Jan 24, 2005 Full Review Jamie Russell BBC.com One of the most groundbreaking films in recent memory in terms of both the explicitness of its sexuality and its commitment to such an austere intellectual discourse. Rated: 4/5 Nov 23, 2004 Full Review Jay Antani Cinema Writer A waste of cinema, and of precious time. Rated: .5/4 Aug 19, 2006 Full Review Eric D. Snider EricDSnider.com I hate this movie, but only because it hated me first. Rated: F Jan 16, 2005 Full Review Sean P. Means Salt Lake Tribune Breillat reduces sexuality to the basest coupling of body parts, and Anatomy of Hell reduces film to freak-show voyeurism. Rated: 0/4 Jan 7, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (191) audience reviews
Audience Member SPOILER ALERT 🚨 Despite the anti gay views - How about the part he fucking drinks her PERIOD!! Was like a car crash about to happen that I couldn't keep my eyes off. GAG GAG GAG GAG The hell did I just watch? Movie is crap - I'd rather watch an actual porn movie. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member start your day out right and push your self out of your comfort zone !!!!! warning you might find to extreme get over it Kat has done a wonderful job of directing and filming this wonderful film. As an artist I see the beauty in everything. this film is a work of art .i'm amaze how she was able to make certain scenes feel like you were looking at a beautiful painting.the colours just seem to be so vivid.This film is not just about wonderful camera work.the story is a very well executed. I do not want to really say much about it. The more surprises the better. It is mature film so be an adult. Keep an open mind.an if you are unable to continue just because you object to certain scenes then sad I'm for you.and if a scene is to much there always fast forward.so just simply watch it and really experience everything this can offer.it is what.it is simple is that.this is not Vanilla in any way or form.if you understand that term then we are good to go.in this film there are two main people that we get to know in a very intimate way.first we have the man who is gay and very true to who he an very sure of himself.An how his life gives him happiness... at first. then there's the woman she a very sad and confuse and truly will go beyond the norm to feel like she matters. will she succeed .you'll have watch the film to see how she will fix the broken woman she is. So to begin she has decided to go out to a club An try to feel something but she will fail.she finally has given up. But here we have her knight in shining armor to rescue her well sort of.by the way this man despises females.so she get to know this knight and begins to learn about this man his life and why is he so sure of himself and what makes him tick.because she fills so empty An actually very unhappy that this so called knight even dared rescue her.an now she hates him and wants to destroy him and take away his happiness.so she will trick him an she will present a quest that will give her satisfaction as well as an inner strength that all woman have when they look deep enough.so all he has to do in this quest is to take off the armor and free himself of the sureness An just watch her and experience An feel who and what she is.at first man will not do such a quest but the reward is great.so now we will be taken on a very strange and almost taboo like voyage but if you really dare to open one self you will truly witness a new outlook An new understanding of who woman is and who man can become an knowledge that can only make you a stronger person.this film gives you chance to experience all the aspects of an relationship even what is consider taboo that we normally do in private and rarely think about.some consider shocking or disturbing.an what will become of the man and the lady will each get what they desire or will it completely destroy both of them. but is it really or is there something deeply buried in your conscience which make make you close minded and have such views an how will you feel after and forever about yourself and others and how will you feel about your relationship and now how you can make it grow.In a way this is kinda of a Instructional dating guide only if you can go beyond tho. Keep in mind this is French speaking film not English so requires subtitles cudo to those that can handle it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member A woman (Amira Casar) is discovered by a man (Rocco Siffredi) cutting her wrists in the restroom of a gay bar. After he takes her to a clinic to get her self-inflicted wounds taken care of, she expresses her opinion that men hold a great fear and hatred of female sexuality. She wishes to explore this matter. She tells the stranger that she is willing to pay him to watch her during her most private moments. There is no need to touch her; he only has to observe. If he likes what he sees, he is welcome to join her in bed. Based on the novel and screenplay by Catherine Breillat, "Anatomie de l'enfer" is not an easy film to digest given some of its undercurrents, like hatred of men and male homosexuals, as well as sexual images that really push the boundary between art and pornography so it is a bit of a surprise to me that I was able to stick with it. Perhaps it is because, to me, its thesis is clear: the woman of interest considers gay males as being a part of an elite brotherhood that detests women, thereby only engaging with other males sexually-what they consider to be their equal-and so she takes the man through a sort-of experiment where she can "prove" that a woman's sexuality is so powerful, it can turn male fear or resentment, homosexual or heterosexual, toward women into something positive. The picture is anything but conventional. The two characters do not even have names. They are as detached from one another as we are to them. Despite this, there are plenty of contrasting elements worth looking into. For instance, although penis, vagina, breasts, and anus are shown generously on screen, I did not find them erotic. These body parts are often accompanied by images that can be considered disgusting or disturbing. The way a gardening tool is used quickly comes to mind. Even more shocking is the woman's reaction to it. Another example involves the disparity between the seemingly rich ideas inside the woman's mind and the sparseness of her cottage house. It can be interpreted that although her thoughts are aplenty, they hold very little meaning. At times the material attempts to reach at anything in the dark. About halfway through, it is mentioned that an ocean is both a male and female image but its elucidation is more confusing than thought-provoking. When this sort of thing happens, which occurs more than half a dozen times, it feels like the screenplay is trying too hard to come off as meaningful. There is a self-consciousness in the bold script. Most importantly, I did not buy into the man's newfound feelings toward the woman. What he considers to be a profound realization in terms of his relationship with women (or just the woman he spent bizarre four nights with), I interpreted as trauma. I was neither moved intellectually or emotionally nor did I feel like it was a worthwhile experience as art or pornography. Although it is propelled by extreme elements on outside, "Anatomy of Hell" seems to just coast among them. Film-Review.org Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member A woman (Amira Casar) is discovered by a man (Rocco Siffredi) cutting her wrists in the restroom of a gay bar. After he takes her to a clinic to get her self-inflicted wounds taken care of, she expresses her opinion that men hold a great fear and hatred of female sexuality. She wishes to explore this matter. She tells the stranger that she is willing to pay him to watch her during her most private moments. There is no need to touch her; he only has to observe. If he likes what he sees, he is welcome to join her in bed. Based on the novel and screenplay by Catherine Breillat, "Anatomie de l'enfer" is not an easy film to digest given some of its undercurrents, like hatred of men and male homosexuals, as well as sexual images that really push the boundary between art and pornography so it is a bit of a surprise to me that I was able to stick with it. Perhaps it is because, to me, its thesis is clear: the woman of interest considers gay males as being a part of an elite brotherhood that detests women, thereby only engaging with other males sexually-what they consider to be their equal-and so she takes the man through a sort-of experiment where she can "prove" that a woman's sexuality is so powerful, it can turn male fear or resentment, homosexual or heterosexual, toward women into something positive. The picture is anything but conventional. The two characters do not even have names. They are as detached from one another as we are to them. Despite this, there are plenty of contrasting elements worth looking into. For instance, although penis, vagina, breasts, and anus are shown generously on screen, I did not find them erotic. These body parts are often accompanied by images that can be considered disgusting or disturbing. The way a gardening tool is used quickly comes to mind. Even more shocking is the woman's reaction to it. Another example involves the disparity between the seemingly rich ideas inside the woman's mind and the sparseness of her cottage house. It can be interpreted that although her thoughts are aplenty, they hold very little meaning. At times the material attempts to reach at anything in the dark. About halfway through, it is mentioned that an ocean is both a male and female image but its elucidation is more confusing than thought-provoking. When this sort of thing happens, which occurs more than half a dozen times, it feels like the screenplay is trying too hard to come off as meaningful. There is a self-consciousness in the bold script. Most importantly, I did not buy into the man's newfound feelings toward the woman. What he considers to be a profound realization in terms of his relationship with women (or just the woman he spent bizarre four nights with), I interpreted as trauma. I was neither moved intellectually or emotionally nor did I feel like it was a worthwhile experience as art or pornography. Although it is propelled by extreme elements on outside, "Anatomy of Hell" seems to just coast among them. Film-Review.org Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Good premise and I do like the film, but I can't help but feel there is something missing. This film should be viewed more as an art film though, for anyone wanting to watch it, as I feel this might be the reason the audience feels cheated, as they thought they were going to be seeing something else. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Beautiful woman...but the rest was too French for me. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Anatomy of Hell

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis After attempting suicide, a young woman makes a startling proposition and pays a homosexual man to observe her naked body at her isolated home.
Director
Catherine Breillat
Producer
Jean-François Lepetit
Screenwriter
Catherine Breillat
Production Co
Flach Film
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 23, 2004, Original
Runtime
1h 17m
Sound Mix
Surround