The Baby of Macon [VHS] [1993]

 

 

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Director Peter Greenaway, no stranger to making films with an OTT content made this - The Baby Of Macon in 1994. It was slammed by many critics for being too OTT (even by Greenaway's standards) and indeed many of the audience who did show up to watch it, tended to walk out in disgust at some of the sequences. The film faded quietly away in cinemas and its subsequent releases on both vhs and dvd tended to do the same... That is a shame because while the film has its flaws, it has strengths which propel it into 4 star territory.

The film is of the recreation of a stage play put on for a bloated aristocrat. The play is about the lurid events that happened in the French town of Macon during Medieval times. However, reality and what is being played blur and soon the audience find themselves participants in the events which become increasingly (and at times disgustingly) real.

The story sees a hideously overweight and ageing woman give birth to a beautiful baby. The townspeople are incredulous that this could happen which allows one of the woman's older daughters, a manipulative and scheming individual, played by Julia Ormond to claim that the baby is hers, and arrived via a divine conception. The child does seem to have powers of healing and blessing and as his guardian the young woman is soon on her way to making a fortune from payments from those eager to benefit from the child's seemingly divine powers. However, events later take a turn for the worse and the Church is shown in an unflattering light, as it makes an unpleasant inervention when things start to spin out of control. Indeed, Greenaway is essentially accusing the Church of being a self serving institution, more interested in the maintenance of power and control, rather than carrying out its historical mission.

Be warned the gore and sexual content is very strong indeed. The graphic sex scene between Ray Fiennes and Julia Ormond is then followed by the incredibly gruesome death of Fiennes' character.

Julia Ormond's character is sentenced to be raped by over 200 men by a vengefull Church official....

The child dies and is graphically dismembered on screen by the adoring townspeople as they each seek a 'relic' from his body.The net result of this OTT content is that it tends to dilute and blur the film's message rather than underline it though.

Gore aside, the film is sumptuous to look at and the costumes are an explosion of colour and detail. The film boasts a strong cast that includes Ray Fiennes, Julia Ormond, Don Henderson and others.

To sum up, watching The Baby of Macon is an experience, you could hardly call it entertainment. However, it remains a film that should be seen. The New Zealand dvd (which at the time of writing) is the only official dvd release, has been cut but is still very gruesome. If you wish to see the uncut version of the film, then pick up a UK release vhs. Just make sure that you have a strong stomach.....

This film, which was not popular with critics upon release (cerca 1993), has basic Greenaway characteristics: sumptous sets, costumes, photography;ornate though literate dialogue;more than a bit of cruelty. The character played by Ralph Fiennes is so priggishly unsympathetic that it makes his portrayal of Goeth in "Schindler's List" aimiable by comparison. If this film has any striking feature, it is the last segment, where Julia Ormond is raped to death by a succession of men. This scene caused people to leave the theatre when the film was initially released. It is truly horrifying, if only because you don't see what it going on, only hear it. Unlike some contemporary reviewers, I don't think it was done gratuitously, and may open eyes as and increase sensitivity to this dreadful crime.

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