The Marquis de Sade and Redemption Films working together? Well played, Satan.
As much as I despise saying this, Justine was not a bad movie. The directing was solid, the acting fine, and the plotting of the story was actually coherent, which is more than I can say for any of the Redemption titles I’ve reviewed. However, that’s not to say that I actually enjoyed this movie. Technical aspects aside, this was a dark, disgusting, downright mean movie that seems to revel in the dark blotch it spits onto your soul. But considering that this was based on the writings of the all around fun guy, the Marquis de Sade, this was hardly unexpected.
The plot’s pretty typical: Justine and her sister [insert name] are living in a private school run by nuns when they learn that their father and mother have died. The father hung himself and the mother died soon after. While this is a sad situation, it’s made worse by the fact that dear old dad only left forty pounds as inheritance to his daughters. The nuns offer to let the sisters stay with them, but only if they “reciprocate” their kindness. Outraged, Justine’s sister leads them out of the school so they can travel to London to learn how to be prostitutes.
Justine, however, being a God-fearing, virtuous girl, can’t stand the thought of being a whore, so she runs away back to their old village where she takes sanctuary with an old friend who also happens to be a priest. This doesn’t work out very well as the priest tries to rape Justine in the middle of the night. The girl manages to get away only to be captured by a clan of highwaymen who force her with threats of gang rape to help them rob people on the highway. Eventually she manages to escape from them with the help of her sister’s lover, but in the end he manages to do what everybody else in the movie has tried, and rapes her. This all leads up to an ending that makes you want to put a shotgun in your mouth and pull the trigger.
In terms of what you actually see, this is nowhere near as bad as, say, Satanic Sluts II: The Black Masses, and I will admit that for a movie based on the works of the man whose name gave birth to the term “sadism” there were few scenes of torture and bondage. But there’s an atmosphere that permeates every frame of the movie. The story merrily tries to ruin Justine in about every way possible because she tries to hold on to her sense of virtue and decency. The threat of rape comes from every corner, including nuns. And absolutely no one does anything out of goodness or the idea that it’s the right thing to do. Sex is the ultimate commodity in this movie, and it’s a dark, depressing, and inherently violent act.
Like I said before, I pretty much knew this was how it was going to be before I even cut the plastic wrapping off the DVD case, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch. There’s enough ugliness in the world already, and I don’t see why Redemption seems to keen on adding to it.
The movie is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio with Mono sound. Considering the age of the movie the transfer is very good; there are no problems with the video or audio.
Theatrical Trailer (2:29)
Interview with Christ Bogen, Director (5:31) – According to Bogen, he read the works of the Marquis de Sade when he was ten, and I find it absolutely amazing that he doesn’t seem to be scarred for life from the experience. Perhaps it has something to do with him being Scandinavian. Whatever the reason, Borgen obviously has great respect for the man’s work and was very pleased with how the movie came out. On an interesting side note, Bolgen claims he took out a few scenes because they would be too intense for audiences under eighteen. I’ll leave you to ponder that.
Interview with Ian Cullen, Screenwriter (18:35) – Cullen never comes out and says it, but I got the distinct impression that he was conflicted about his involvement with Justine. He definitely has strong feelings on modern movies and how they portray sex and violence and how they influence young moviegoers who have no strong religious or moral compass.
Stills Gallery – This was so short I’m not really sure why they included it.
Redemption Trailers:
Nature Morte (2:12)
Satanic Sluts: The Black Order Cometh (1:34) reviewed here by Danny Cox
Fascination (2:27)
Contact – How to contact Redemption Studios.
Just thinking about this movie depresses me. I don’t hold with the standard Hollywood ideal of all movies needing to have a happy ending, but man this one is bleak. There isn’t one redeemable character in this whole lousy film, and after a while such a dark outlook on humanity really takes its toll. Nihilists look at the Marquis de Sade and say “Dude, chill.” Well, maybe if they’re surfer nihilists, but I’m getting off topic. I’m not going to condemn anyone for enjoying this movie, because it is well put together. I just passionately disagree with its philosophy. Not recommended.
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Redemption USA presents The Marquis de Sade’s Justine. Directed by Chris Boger. Starring Glory Annen, Jeannie Collings, Jennifer Guy, Katherine Kath, and Martin Potter. Written by Ian Cullen. Running time: 99 minutes. Rated NR. Released on DVD: October 28, 2008. Available at Amazon.
