80
Time Out London by Dave Calhoun
As the actors move fluidly between various states, shedding one skin while assuming another, Polanski makes this subversive parlour game matter.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
60
Polanski’s unavoidably stagy adaptation of David Ives’ celebrated Broadway play is an enjoyably witty two-hander, confined to its theatre setting, yet with much to say about gender roles in the world beyond.
80
The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney
There’s a masterfully light touch at work, both from the director and his two wonderful actors. They make this chamber piece lip-smacking entertainment, giving the dense text the semblance of more intellectual heft or sexual transgression than it ultimately contains.
75
Slant Magazine by Jesse Cataldo
After years of respectable filmmaking, it's refreshing to witness a reinvigorated Roman Polanski willing to once again delve deep into seedy psychodrama.
50
With the themes of this play not exactly subtle or delicate, particularly at the climax, it all becomes a bit grating -- inescapable in its heavy-handedness.
60
At its very best his Venus in Fur is a clever and often comical two-hander, with Amalric and Seigner both giving tour de force performances.
70
Despite being very much a “filmed play” it doesn’t come across as too theatrical. Polanski uses plenty of close-ups and keeps the action moving.
60
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
Venus In Fur is a playful if occasionally heavy-handed jeu d'ésprit on the subject of sexual role-play, the games we all play, illusion and reality, and directing as a sexual act.
60
The Telegraph by Robbie Collin
This is a fun piece of play-acting for as long as it lasts, but it never quite feels like much more. Things may become kinky in front of the lens, but you can sense Polanski lurking behind it throughout, always ready with his safe-word. Cut!
70
A delightfully intricate battle of wits and wills in which the question of who’s directing/seducing/torturing whom remains constantly shifting open to interpretation.
La Venus a la fourrure ROM Eu as structura lucrarea astfel : prolog, act I –III. Prolog : Templul- spatiul initiatic, spatiul creatiei. Teatrul isi deschide portile accepta, invita, provoaca. Act I : Sala - spatiul profan. Cele doua personaje fac parte din acest spatiu. El, o discutie quasi-domestica, ea quasi-vulgara, obraznic insistenta. Act II : Scena - spatiul sacru, altarul . Ea. In momentul uracarii pe scena, rochia galbena, ea intra in starea speciala, extatica, starea creatiei. El o urmeaza, fiind total integrat cand telefonic, renunta explicit la spatiul profan. Cei doi sunt initiatii, sacerdoti. Ei oficiaza ritualul, marele si sacrul mister: CREATIA , MAREA ARTA. Act III : Profanul confruntat cu actul sacru-initiatic. Este partea finala. Actiunea devine captivant-onirica, confuz-deliranta, fara a mai putea urmari povestea, ci a simti doar o fascinanta confuzie. Simptomele marii emotii in fata gestului initiatic- arta.”Une réflexion étourdissante d'intelligence” - LE MONDE | 12.11.2013 . Cooncluzii : Personajele nu sunt concepute spre a exprima trairi interioare definite, concluzive.Nu exista drame sau probleme existentiale, ci doar crearea unor STARI : cautarea, spatiul profan, apoi initiatic, extazul in fata ritualului creatiei,artei. Personajele; eu le consider TRANSCENDENTE (TRANSCENDÉNT, -Ă, transcendenți, -te, adj. 1. (Fil.) Care depășește, care trece dincolo de orizontul experienței sau al întrebuințării teoriei într-un domeniu dat; care presupune un principiu exterior și superior oricărei clase de obiecte. (În filosofia lui Kant) Care se află dincolo de orice experiență posibilă, fie că este vorba de realități (lucruri în sine), fie de principii ale cunoașterii. ◊ Care se află mai presus de inteligența obișnuită, de lucrurile individuale, de umanitate.) Filmul putea sa porneasca de la” Scaunele”, „Amedee, ou comment s’en debarrasser”, si altele - Ionesco,” En attandent Godot” – Beckett, si de ce nu „Conul Leonida....”. Cred ca a optat pentru Masoch ( atentie Mazoh era austriac-Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch, nu francez cum credem , credeam multi) pentru un relativ soc, a surprinde este o tehnica in arta, pe care eu o agreez, si o practic. O importanta revelatie pentru mine, a fost interpretarea pe baza acestui sir de idei, a ceea ce iubeam din totdeauna (emotional preponderent)- teatrul absurdului. Acest spatiu asta creaza, descrie STARI,si nu personale, ci STARI in sine.