Cinema: Dirty Doings

The sex drama Romance lacks a passion for life

The French, it seems, are trying to revive their old reputation as a culture that is smart and naughty about sex. The modern version of French postcards is French cinema--not of the frothy old ooh-la-la sort but so serious that watching a woman caress a man's genitals is like taking an anatomy final at the Sorbonne. Four recent French films of high pedigree have featured sex that goes well beyond soft core. One, Catherine Breillat's Romance, has just opened here. Now we'll see if France and America speak the same dirty language.

It would be pleasing to report that someone...

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