Storyline
Mutantes sheds light on a feminism that was
little talked about in France. This documentary
comprises of a series of interviews conducted in
the USA, Paris and Barcelona, and documents from
the archives about the political action of sex
workers, queer activists and post-pornographic
performances.
Special Features:
- Interviews with Catherine Breillat, Lydia Lunch, Annie
Sprinkle
A documentary exploring the pro-sex movement over the
past three decades through interviews with activists,
sex workers and performers alongside archive footage of
actions and excerpts from feminist pornography. The
pro-sex feminist movement began in the United States in
the 1980s. Among other things it asserts that
pornography must be taken outside of patriarchal
control, and that in the hands of women and sexual
minorities it can become a tool of liberation. Despentes
(Baise Moi) takes a wide ranging look at the movement,
conducting interviews with key figures in the USA,
France and Spain, and mapping the evolution of pro-sex,
or post-porn, from its pioneers like Annie Sprinkle to
newer European work like Emilie Jouvets Too Much Pussy!
Thought provoking and explicit, Mutantes is part of a
very queer feminist revolution.
Mutantes Feminisme Porno
Punk (2009)
Virginie Despentes debut documentary, the winner of the
Campaign for Homosexual Equalitys Derek Oyston Film
Award 2011, focuses on the punk porn feminism movement.
Mutantes examines its origins in 1980s America, its
gathering momentum, evolution, and eventual
transportation overseas to Europe. Unlike other feminist
movements, which see pornography as exploitative and
demeaning, punk porn feminism sees sex and porno as
tools of liberation, where women choose and control how
to express themselves sexually, believing that this
embodies an epitome of feminism. It covers subjects such
as the campaign to legalise prostitution in the USA,
feminist S&M pornography, transgender erotica, and queer
activism, to name only a few.
Mutantes Feminisme Porno
Punk (2009)
The documentary is made up of around twenty interviews
with artists, activists and provocateurs from within the
movement both past and present, as well as footage from
performances and productions they have developed.
Mutantes Feminisme Porno
Punk (2009)
The movement itself is nothing short of radical, and
Despentes documentary wonderfully captures this. Its
opening tosses the audience into the deep end with a
highly experimental, dark, and twisted porno from one of
the groups involved, but this yields to carefree energy,
biting wit, intrigue and powerful ideologies.
Mutantes Feminisme Porno
Punk (2009)
The documentary does a good job of clearly explaining
the ideals of the movement and introduces them at an
interesting and engaging angle. Despentes choice of
artists, personalities, and footage do an excellent job
of creating a sense of character for this a radical and
diverse collective. It is expertly put together, giving
glimpses of the erotic, the absurd and the intelligent,
but never letting any of them run away with themselves.
It doesnt shy away from the extreme, though, and there
are definitely some moments that many viewers will no
doubt find a little uncomfortable.
Mutantes Feminisme Porno
Punk (2009)
As the film drifts across the different factions within
the movement, it does sometimes veer off onto small
tangents, but Despentes does a good job of piloting the
documentarys direction as far as possible. The films
only major weakness is that it starts to loose pace
towards the end. The canny humour and shameless
enthusiasm of personalities such as Annie Sprinkles and
Scarlot Harlot makes the film incredibly endearing from
its outset. However, this slowly ebbs away to be
replaced by the high-intellectualism and aggressive
activism of the modern day Queer campaigns in Europe.
While these movements are relevant and important to the
overarching agenda, their severity does remove some of
the films initial charm.
Mutantes Feminisme Porno
Punk (2009)
But all in all, this documentary is a keenly constructed
piece of food for thought, and captures the very
personable passions and driven ideals of all those
individuals involved. Engaging, shocking, funny, and
enlightening, this is a groundbreaking work for anyone
with an interest in gender politics or feminism.
