The 2012 film Sexual Chronicles of a French Family (originally titled Chroniques sexuelles d'une famille d'aujourd'hui) represents a distinct moment in contemporary French cinema. Directed by Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold, the film attempts to navigate the delicate boundary between art-house drama and explicit exploration, offering a stylized look at modern intimacy through the lens of a single suburban household. A New Approach to the "Family Portrait"
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Sexual Chronicles of a French Family Chroniques sexuelles d'une famille d'aujourd'hui ) is a 2012 French comedy-drama directed by Jean-Marc Barr Pascal Arnold The 2012 film Sexual Chronicles of a French
Upon release in France, the film was initially slapped with an X-rating (pornographic classification). This would have relegated it to a handful of dingy theaters in Pigalle, effectively killing its arthouse credibility. This would have relegated it to a handful
The film is presented as a faux-documentary. The family records confessions and explicit acts on a handheld DV camera. The "chronicles" are broken into chapters, each focusing on a different family member:
Overall verdict: It’s a well-intentioned but flawed experiment. If you’re interested in French cinema that challenges censorship and social norms, it may be worth a watch. But as a coherent narrative film, it’s disjointed, preachy, and more likely to elicit eye-rolls than enlightenment. Rating: 2.5/5 (or 5/10) from most arthouse critics.