Desire

Desire (Q, 2011) is a French erotic drama from Laurent Bouhnik, ready to watch online on iFILM. The backdrop is a provincial town flattened by economic crisis, where ordinary people have run out of hope.

At the heart of it is Cécile (Déborah Révy), a young woman for whom physical desire has become the only way to feel alive. She gives herself freely, without hesitation, and everyone who crosses her path loses their footing. Several lives gradually converge around her — people who are lost, desperate, or simply looking for a crack of light in their grey routine. Here desire works as both an anesthetic and a snare.

Bouhnik shoots explicitly and without false modesty; this is considerably harsher than the average romance and clearly not for family viewing. It plays as auteur cinema about the body and its emptiness rather than glossy erotica. It will land with viewers who go for provocative, unflinching French arthouse. Stream Desire (2011) online on iFILM.