Jean-Claude Brisseau’s “Exterminating Angels”

March 7, 2007
JONNO

"A date that begins with 'Exterminating Angels,' Jean-Claude Brisseau's suave and salacious new movie, is likely to end up either in bed or in court." So begins A.O. Scott's review of the controversial film which opens today in Manhattan after stirring up its due share of brouhaha during its premiere in Cannes last year and which is shaping up to be this year's "9 Songs" or "Shortbus" in terms of depicting explicit sex in the context of an arthouse film release—though you'd never know it from the trailer, which is all subtitles and shadowy glimpses of whispery, heaving flesh. Stll, as Scott points out in his review, it's the rare instance of mainstream cinema that was presented with a 2257 compliance certificate at the critics' screening. Just don't expect anything along the lines of, say, "Dirt Pipe Milkshakes". This is a French arthouse film, after all.

· "A Cerebral Skin Flick, Subtitles Included" (NY Times)
· "Exterminating Angels" Trailer (YouTube)
· More "Exterminating Angels" reviews @ CHUD, Film Fest Journal, Slant Magazine, and Variety
· IFC Films (ifcfilms.com)