Black Venus (2010 film)

Black Venus
Film poster
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche
Produced by Charles Gillibert
Nathanaël Karmitz
Marin Karmitz
Written by Abdellatif Kechiche
Ghalya Laroix
Starring Yahima Torres
Olivier Gourmet
Cinematography Lubomir Bakchev
Production
company
MK2
Distributed by MK2
Release date
  • 8 September 2010 (2010-09-08) (Venice)
  • 27 October 2010 (2010-10-27) (France)
Running time
166 minutes
Country France
Belgium
Tunisia
Language French
English
Afrikaans

Black Venus (French: Vénus noire) is a 2010 French drama film directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. It is based on the life of Sarah Baartman, a Khoikhoi woman who in the early 19th century was exhibited in Europe under the name "Hottentot Venus".[1] The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival,[2] where it was awarded the Equal Opportunity Award.[3]

Plot

Paris 1817, the Royal Academy of Medicine. "I have never seen a human head so similar to that of an ape's". Standing by a molded cast of Saartjie Baartman's body, anatomist Georges Cuvier's verdict is categorical. Seven years earlier, Saartjie left her native South Africa with her master, Caezar, to expose her caged body to the audiences of London's freak shows. Free and enslaved all at the same time, the "Hottentot Venus" became an icon in the slums, destined to be sacrificed in the pursuit of a shimmering vision of prosperity.

Cast

  • Yahima Torres as Sarah Baartman
  • Olivier Gourmet as Réaux, le forain
  • Jean-Christophe Bouvet as Mercailler
  • Jonathan Pienaar as Alexander Dunlop
  • Andre Jacobs as Caezar
  • Olivier Loustau as Le Capitaine de Hussards
  • Diana Stewart as Lady with Parasol
  • Eric Moreau as Un spectateur de baraque de foire
  • Ralph Amoussou as Harry
  • Violaine de Carne as Diane de Méry
  • Yann Sorton as Client du cabaret
  • Jeanne Corporon as Une invitée
  • Gilles Matheron as Théobald de Méry
  • Philip Schurer as Peter Van Wageninge
  • Violaine Gillibert as Géraldine Rivière
  • Christian Prat as Monsieur Campanile
  • Albanna Enlil as Peuple - scène du tribunal
  • Joshua Hepworth as Intrigued boy

Reception

Black Venus holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on five reviews.[4]

References

  1. "Vénus noire". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  2. "Venezia 67". labiennale.org. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  3. "Pari Opportunità a Venus Noire". Il Sole 24 Ore. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  4. "Black Venus (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 February 2017.


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