The Duke of Burgundy

[projekktor id=’17491′]

The Duke of Burgundy is an erotic British drama directed by Peter Strickland. The film features a small cast led by Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D’Anna, with Eugenia Caruso, Zita Kraszkó, Monica Swinn, and Eszter Tompa supporting.

Evelyn (Chiara D’Anna) and Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) share an interest in entomology – the former, an amateur lepidopterist (studier of moths and butterflies), and the latter, an orthopterist (crickets and grasshoppers). But that isn’t the only interest they share. Every day, Evelyn cycles over to Cynthia’s mansion, where she does the household chores, only to have Cynthia dole out punishment when the job isn’t done properly. But when Evelyn is sent into a sexual trance, it becomes obvious that she’s the one in control here. In fact, her addiction may soon push the relationship to a breaking point.

The title may make The Duke of Burgundy sound like a boring historical piece, but Strickland chose the title specifically for the juxtaposition it creates. “I just found it amusing having a male name for such a female story. I like it because it’s so misleading. I always liked that with albums like Throbbing Gristle’s 20 Jazz Funk Greats which is, thankfully, as far from Jazz Funk as you can get. So you instantly think it’s some kind of tasteful period film, mainly because of the word duke.” The Duke of Burgundy was an official selection at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and also won the Grand Jury Prize at the Philadelphia Film Festival.

The Duke of Burgundy is rated 14A.