Kissed

Institute History

  • 1997 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Sandra has always had a fascination with death. It speaks to her. She feels a desire to be close to it, smell it, touch it. As a child, Sandra performed bizarre burial rituals in the woods with dead animals. But what began as a childhood interest becomes an adult obsession. She takes a job in a funeral parlor, where she can indulge her curiosity by being near the corpses. However, complications arise when she begins dating a medical student intent on understanding her desires.

Lynne Stopkewich’s debut feature Kissed is a tantalizing, sensual exploration of a young woman’s unusual journey into the haunting world of necrophilia. The film adeptly walks a fine line, never writing the lead character off as insane and instead portraying her as having a highly unusual sense of the world. Yet her fetish is only one facet of her existence; Sandra is still able to function in the world. This delicate balance forces the viewer to reexamine preconceptions about the boundaries of what is normal and acceptable. Molly Parker gives an invigorating, often breathtaking, performance which simply radiates off the screen. The striking cinematography and perfectly suited music add atmosphere to the film.

— Lisa Viola

Screening Details

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