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The Baby of Mâcon
An apparently miraculous birth is exploited by the authorities in medieval France in Greenaway's disturbing film about corruption.
Director: Peter Greenaway
Overview
In the 17th-century medieval court of Cosimo de Medici III, a group of players perform a production outlining an apparent virgin birth in the French town of Mâcon and the people who exploit this ‘miracle’ for their own gain. What follows is a damning indictment of corruption in all strata of society, particularly the Church.
Greenaway said that he wanted to present the difficult and graphic scenes in the film with ‘nothing glamorised and nothing safe’ – a response to what he saw as the more sanitised, safe representations of sex and violence elsewhere. As always, the artistic beauty of the piece is breathtaking, despite its difficult and deeply disturbing subject matter. With thanks to Film4.
BFI Guidance: Please note that this film features graphic scenes of rape and violence.
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