The Baby of Mâcon

1994 "Exploring thoroughly modern taboos"
6.9| 2h2m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 03 November 1994 Released
Producted By: Cine Electra
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Set halfway through the 17th century, a church play is performed for the benefit of the young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.

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Reviews

Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
fedor8 Probably the best Greenaway film. Ironically, the main reasons for this are the lacking of two of his trademarks; 1) monotonous music, and 2) the camera shooting a mile away from the action and actors (there was comparatively little of that this time around). This film alternates between captivating and boring, the latter being usually the case with sequences involving only music. Once again Greenaway includes extreme gore and brutality into his story. In fact, his films have more of that than 90% of "regular" horror films. In that sense, Greenaway is a horror-film director, but one who dresses his horror with style and elaborate sets. The scene towards the end where Julia Ormond gets raped by hundreds of men in a row is one of the most unforgettable scenes in movie history, through its sheer brutality.
Mormegil Be warned, this is a Peter Greenaway film and may cause offence. The incredibly moral plot with its littering of fable and allegory make the script enchanting and involving, and leave plenty of room for an in-depth analysis.The soundtrack is haunting and appropriate, and the set is marvellous. The story is told as a "play within a play" and the theatre-like set is used to its utmost. There is a strange violence created from darting between the characters of the theatre being portrayed and the actual actors. The rape scene is the most effective use of this tactic, which is by far the most horrifically violent scene of its nature I have seen in any film. The audience is left shocked and silent.Every intricate detail of this story is sewn together beautifully and the many plots and ideas collide at the end to form a brilliant Greenaway masterpiece.A must see for Greenaway enthusiasts, but beware - this film is an acquired taste and may not sit well with your average moviegoer.
NateManD "The Baby of Macon" is a very bizarre film. Part play, part period piece and part religious satire. As usual director Peter Greenaway creates a stunning masterpiece, that looks like a painting come to life. Of course the film has disturbing elements and is probably Greenaway's most violent and brutal film. Julia Ormond plays the daughter, a beautiful young women. Her mother who's extremely ugly gives birth to the most beautiful baby. The daughter lies and says the baby is hers and that it was a virgin birth. She profits from the child and has him bless the whole town, even the cow. Both Ray Fiennes and Julia Ormand have very tough roles in this film; including a manger scene seduction. When the town finds out that the daughter is lying and the baby is not hers, they sentence her to be raped by over 100 men. Poor Julia Ormond. Avoid this film if religious or easily shocked. The film does have a dark sense of humor and makes a powerful statement about greed and religion. Although brutal, "The Baby of Macon" is a surreal masterpiece in which reality and stage performance collide. You'll wonder what parts a play and what events are actually happening in the story. This film also includes an amazing film score by Micheal Nyman. If only it would get a DVD release in the US?
zedul In a word, one of the most putrid and despicable movies ever made. Its bad from the start and by the end the movie plunges to such depraving depths you feel like sticking a gun in your mouth and blowing out your brains to punish yourself for subjecting your mind to such vile and horrific images.After this movie was over I rushed about the house trying to find the most sickeningly sweet movie ever filmed as an antidote for the poison I had just consumed. I ended up having to endure some second rate Disney flick just to get the foul taste out of my mouth.I suppose the only good thing about this movie is the fact that the director is making movies rather than engaging in some other enterprise, like stalking the night streets as a tormented serial killer. I question not only the sanity of the director, but the integrity of the actors and actresses who participated in this pile of stinking refuse.Pornographic would be a poor label for this movie, as pornography is quite simply, much easier to stomach when compared to the "art" that this film purports to be. I would rather sit through ten screenings of the infamous and ugly "I Spit On Your Grave" (the first movie I ever saw that truly offended me)than watch five minutes of "The Baby of Macon".I think this is a movie made for and by people who are so bitterly angry at religion that they feel they have to be blasphemous. That somehow, by defiling their minds as thoroughly as they can, they will either get back at God, or at their mean Catholic mommies who made them say one too many prayers before bedtime. Give it a rest folks, the only person you are getting is yourself. Go see a shrink - if you don't believe in God then there is no point inflicting this sort of mind altering blasphemy on yourself, you are wasting your time and damaging your humanity.Sitting through this movie made me feel like Nicholas Cage in 8mm. I will feel tainted for the rest of my life for seeing what I have seen.One more thing: It's a bad movie. If it weren't for the shocking imagery and that insatiable curiosity that causes people to slow down and watch the car wreck then there would be no reviews here at all because no one would have sat through it.