Sex, bondage, and butterflies: two women explore the extremes of carnal desire in this kinky, deliciously twisted tale of erotic obsession. In a crumbling European estate, butterfly researcher Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and her lover Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna) repeatedly enact a sadomasochistic role-playing game, with Cynthia as the stern mistress and Evelyn her subservient sex slave. But as the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, and Cynthia grows increasingly uneasy with Evelyn’s insatiable appetite for punishment, their relationship is pushed to the limit. Dripping with dreamlike imagery, Gothic atmosphere, and a lush chamber pop score by Cat’s Eyes, this critically acclaimed, darkly comic erotic fantasia from the writer/director of Berberian Sound Studio is a seductive feast for the senses.
This exhibition features three recently restored paper prints originally produced by Biograph Studios and directed by D.W. Griffith (American 1875–1948) in 1908. Also included is a partially restored version of Le Mélomane (The Melomaniac), a 1903 short directed by the legendary French special effects virtuoso, Georges Méliès (1861–1938).