'Duke Of Burgundy' A Review

The Duke Of Burgundy is a romantic drama about two women in a BDSM relationship set in a nebulous time in a rural scholastic community populated by women. At first it appears Evelyn(Chiara D'Anna) is the somewhat inept maid for the older, demanding, and severe Cynthia(Sidse Babett Knudsen) but it quickly becomes clear they are engaged in a dominant/submissive sexual relationship. Cynthia although the technical dominant is relatively unsure and reluctant while Evelyn the overt submissive is incredibly demanding and particular and seems almost incapable of expressing conventional affection. The film unfolds with repetitions of their rituals, abstract sequences of moths and butterflies, and the mounting inequality of their relationship.

The film is visually striking, saturated and luscious. The score, for the most part, a modern stripped down series of tones punctuating the odd power dynamics and emotional shifts. Although the metaphor is relatively indecipherable the parade of images of both dead and living winged insects is compelling, creating an other worldly feeling that harmonizes with the more grounded intense relationship at the films center.

It is unclear where or when Cynthia and Evelyn are. What weird all female society solely interested in Lepidoptera they inhabit. The chronology of the film is also nebulous. But within all the rich ambiguity there is a beautiful love story. More of a series of sensations and an experience than a narrative.

Challenging, moody, and almost alien.

See It.