My Mother (2004)

My Mother • Ma mère (2004)

Genre: Drama
Director: Christophe Honoré
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel
Language: French, English, German, Spanish
Duration: 110 min.
Rating: 6.1  

Summary:

Following the death of his father, a young man is introduced to a world of hedonism and depravity by his attractive and amoral mother.

My Mother is a film by French director Christophe Honoré, based loosely on a novel by George Bataille.  It premiered at the Cannes Film Market in 2004.

It is a perverse and twisted tale set in the Canary Islands, that follows teenage Pierre (Louis Garrel) who was raised by his grandparents and recently graduated from boarding school, as he spends the summer with his parents in their island villa.  After his father (Philipe Duclos) dies in an accident, Pierre learns of the debauched lives of his parents, and is encouraged by his uninhibited party girl mother Hélène (Isabelle Hupert) to explore increasingly depraved scenarios.  Leading to the two of them becoming dangerously close.

Take one part creepy and another part disgusting, and top it off with one of the most disturbing climaxes ever filmed and you have former children's book author Christophe Honoré's My Mother.  Despite the fairly ridiculous screenplay, it does have some excellent scenic shots of the island environment and a typically solid performance from screen legend Huppert, who bravely portrays a far from commendable character.  Though I really cannot reccomend this to anyone, unless you are looking for a pure WTF film, or maybe a cure for Oedipus complex.

— Bonjour Tristesse