Rating: 
Summary: Frustration and release...
Review: (third try, wonder why) So I wish Americans would make films like this! More than a bit raw at times this movie explores a woman's absolutely complete sexual frustration within her marriage and her journey from emotionally detached seamy satisfactions to a fulfillment that is supposed to shock. I was hooked - despite the inexplicable circumstances I cared for this woman. It seemed I was precariously involved as if in a friendship where you can't say anything for fear of disturbing the unbalance...
Rating:
Summary: Frustration and its resolution
Review: I wish Americans would make movies like this. A woman, sexually frustrated beyond imagination, at first seeks sexual relief in as tawdry of circumstances that rutting will lead to, yet eventually finds a compassionate lover where she least expected him, and finally is vindicated in her own sexuality through his highly stylized sexual behaviors. And yes, there are touches of explicit sex not seen in America outside porn movies so prudes should avoid this one. The pacing is slow and conveys the notion that you are watching a good friend across a few ages of discovery. I won't forget this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: The most Unerotic Hardcore you'll see...
Review: For all its explicit sex, "Romance" is a very very cold film. The problem lies in the fact that the star of the film spends 90% of the time discussing the meaning of sex and love during the explicit scenes that it becomes a complete turn off. But what I found more annoying about this film is that it is supposed to be about the liberation of a woman through her sexuality, yet the heroine constantly allows herself to be humiliated. This is not liberation...it is self-loathing. Proceed with caution on this one, it is not for everyone...
Rating: 
Summary: gross
Review: I did not like this movie. I went to see it out of curiosity, because it claimed to be the most sexually explicit art movie ever made. It was explicit all right, but it did not have a meaningful plot. The monologue of this woman did not make sense, it seemed she was exploring something that did not exist or was not understandable to a normal person. The pace was very slow.To see a movie that explores the relationships between two young lovers, I recommend Run Lola Run, it was a really great movie.
Rating:
Summary: Very Erotic
Review: I like talky movies. This was very talky. I like characters who are looking for something, and the main character was looking. I like the courage of a Director who is not afraid to show sex as it is - hot and "hard." (...) The scene where she and her lover are having sex, seems to be actaully happening, and is erotic in its simplicity. (...) I am glad this movie was made. It was very erotic.
Rating:
Summary: Romance isn't everything.
Review: The female lead is involved in a completely barren and unemotional relationship with her boyfriend. In an effort to 'jump-start' her life, she embarks on several pointless physical relationships... all of which lead her back to her original problem. She cant feel love, nor can she express it, though she wants to. This movie is typical of the French cinema experience... pragmatic.
Rating: 
Summary: If you're easily offended or traumatized, slowly back away
Review: This movie is fascinating because it forces you to completely reanalyze your view of sex, however it usually manages to at least slightly traumatize most people that watch it. I've seen quite a few movies and this is one of the only ones I've watched thats really made me uncomfortable. There is a lot of sex in the movie and it is presented in such a way that you're not meant to find it pleasurable. Pay attention to the color scheme: red, white, and black. Why do you think that it's like that? What does this mean in the context of the movie? Prepare to be disturbed while you follow a nymphomaniac school teacher on a strange sexual adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Boring, dreary, dull, exhausting, amateurish, pointless, ...
Review: ... piece of garbage. Truly. There's nothing (repeat, NOTHING) erotic about this movie, and the moments that are supposed to be shocking are portrayed in such a dull, unappealing fashion that they barely even register. The dialogue in this movie is suprisingly trite, and nobody really "acts" as much as they act bored and cranky. The ending was literally laugh-out-loud funny, although I'm sure it was supposed to be deep and meaningful. Big gripes about the movie:
(POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!)
1. There was never any reason given why the lead would stay with the loathsome, disinterested stiff of a boyfriend. He had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Oh, and his penis was tiny.
2. The movie leaps over months of time, jumping from conception to the latter stages of pregnancy with NO explanation of what transpired in the meantime. So the shift in the lead's attitude at the end of the movie was extremely unbelievable and inexplicable. She repeatedly professes her love for her boyfriend, citing that as the reason she stays with him despite his complete lack of intimacy or even remote interest in her. Then, she suddenly decides she hates him. Fake.
3. I think I might know why, according to the lead, men have difficulty staying aroused during sex with her - she drones on WAY too much.
Minor gripes:
1. The club scenes. Man, those were funny. The "dance music" (which sounded like it was made by a 13-year-old with a Casio keyboard) was so quiet in the club, you could hear the actor's feet shuffling around, which made us laugh out loud.
2. The pregnant belly looked like a big pillow. Again, very funny.
Really, don't waste your time. There are plently of worthwhile "controversial" movies out there, this just ain't one of them.
Rating:
Summary: complexity of the human psyche in all of its ugliness
Review: This was one of the most breath taking and disturbing films I have ever watched. After turning off the television I sat motionless for 10 min or so. I would recommend it to everyone I know who can handle complexity of the human psyche in all of its ugliness and honesty. Perhaps the most daring of directors and one of the most brutally honest and sophisticated scripts I have ever viewed. Perhaps one of the best films I have ever watched. Never have I seen human emotion captured on camera as raw as Romance has, simply amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Watch it in French without the subtitles
Review: I thought this was an excellent adventure in French filmmaking. However, it makes a lot more sense and is easier to comprehend in its native French (without the subtitles). I believe that the translation for the dub and the subtitles was written by a native French speaker because too much of the English translation is literal. I think that this is what subliminally is producing much of the poor reviews by American English speakers. As an example, in the first encounter between Marie and Paulo, in the car Paulo (Rocco Siffredi) says "Bl*w me, baby" in the English translation. I don't believe that Rocco ever said anything so crude in any of his xxx adult features. The translation thing goes on, and on. Overall, the movie treaded on ground seldom tilled in American film. How anybody could say that this movie is sny way degrading to women, would surely indicate that they missed the point, entirely. I would have given this movie 5 stars if the Paul character was more developed to compliment the female lead.
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