Demonlover

2002 [FRENCH]

Action / Drama / Mystery / Thriller

13
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 40% · 83 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 40% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.9/10 10 6999 7K

adult animation hentai new french extremism

Plot summary

A French corporation goes head-to-head with an American web media company for the rights to a 3-D manga pornography studio, resulting in a power struggle that culminates in violence and espionage.

Director

Olivier Assayas Photo
Olivier Assayas

Top cast

Connie Nielsen Photo
Connie Nielsen as Diane de Monx
George W. Bush Photo
George W. Bush as Himself
Chloë Sevigny Photo
Chloë Sevigny as Elise Lipsky
Gina Gershon Photo
Gina Gershon as Elaine Si Gibril
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
1.01 GB
1280*534
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles fr  
23.976 fps
2 hr 9 min
Seeds 3
1.94 GB
1920*800
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles fr  
23.976 fps
2 hr 9 min
Seeds 30

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by runamokprods 7 / 10

Stylistically high energy, high tech fun, with a soundtrack by Sonic Youth

Compare this with 'Summer Hours' or 'Les Destinees' and you'll see that Olivier Assayas has as wide a range of styles as any current filmmaker I can think of. That said, this surreal, intentionally obtuse story of corporate intrigue centering around world domination of anime porn, makes less and less sense, climaxing with an 'ironic twist' you can see coming from several miles off, and leaving one with the feeling that the film is slightly less intelligent than one might have hoped. On the other hand, It did improve on a second viewing. While the ending still bugged me, the odd, slightly irrational middle felt more in control and intentional, more a comment on it's main character than I caught the first time around.One of those films that can be enjoyed as a high-end, visceral, well made ride, as long as you don't demand perfection or high art.
Reviewed by lost-in-limbo 6 / 10

Left in the Dark.

Diane deceives fellow employee/boss Karen of the French firm VolfGroup for her vital position in an upcoming deal. Diane takes charge after an incident to Karen, but secretly she's working for another company who's interested in the deal involving the Japanese corporation TokyoAnime. Things take a turn for the worse for Diane, when they meet the American distributors of demonlover.com and they unearth a little unknown and hard to access underground torture/bondage/rape Website they promote. Diane thinks she's in complete control of the situation, but there's more going on behind the scenes than she really knows.The idea behind this French industrial techno-thriller is confounding, odd and grim, but its over-stylised direction and shady plot with disconnected characters can spoil much of the lasting impact. Again in this age why does the camera-work have to be so frenetic and strident during the fast-moving action set pieces. So you have trouble of making out just what is happening. Even the incoherent plot is a complete muddle of ideas and notions, and probably over-long. However it's always engrossing and the constantly knotty developments that populate the story can create an unsteady intensity. The focus on corporation influence and character pitfalls is premeditatedly cold, as we get pulled in to a loop of shadowy vagueness and desensitised feelings of a society feeding off the darker side of corruption for its kicks. It's one complicated web, populated with a rich load of dialogue, but it could've used a little more depth on its interesting subject. The set-up kind of reminded me of David Cronenberg's superior "Videodrome (1982)". What impressed me most was the pulsating music score by Sonic Youth. Their sterile, dark and incredibly moody instrumental cues interwoven with jaunty sound effects crafted out an effectively brooding and impulsive atmosphere. The technical side of the production is professionally glossed up, but the subject deserved a little more rawness to it. Anyhow the polished nature captures some beautiful, but also dark and jarring images where the icy blue and sleepy locations are framed by some sparsely haunting camera-work. The neon and stark lighting is also an added plus. Olivier Assayas' direction is far more surefooted and visually slick, compared to his loose and splintered writing. The performances are modest, if kinda dry and unemotional. Connie Nelson looks gorgeous, and excels in the effortless part as the calculated, but really vulnerable Diane, who finds out she can't escape what she has dug herself into. The ace Charles Berling is superbly shifty in his role. Chloe Sevigny is suitably fine and the savvy Gina Gershon was a delight to watch.Feels depressingly empty, but this busy (maybe too so?) and stylish espionage story has its moments.
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