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The Duke of Burgundy
2015 104 min Hungary, United Kingdom 18+
★7.2
Drama, Romance
Director: Peter Strickland
Trailers
EN
EN
Description
Day in and day out, lovers Cynthia and Evelyn enact an elaborate sadomasochistic fantasy as mistress and maid. But as their ritual of domination and submission begins to turn stale, Cynthia yearns for something more conventional, while Evelyn tries to push their taboos even further.
Budget:
$1M
US Gross:
$64,521
Starring
Sidse Babett Knudsen
Actor
Monica Swinn
Actor
Chiara D'Anna
Actor
Awards
European Film Awards 2015
— Best Original Score
Key opinion
The Duke of Burgundy is widely celebrated as an exquisite, atmospheric, and highly stylized piece of formalist cinema that prioritizes visual and sensory texture over traditional plot. While many viewers find its meditation on power, ritual, and human connection deeply rewarding, a minority feel the narrative is too thin or static to support its aesthetic ambitions.
| Production | The film features exceptional production design and cinematography that create a rich, tactile, and immersive atmosphere. | |
| Acting | The lead performances by Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D'Anna are masterfully nuanced, effectively grounding the complex power dynamics between the two characters. | |
| Theme | The film utilizes recurring, ritualistic imagery and symbolism—most notably butterflies—to explore themes of obsession, fantasy, and the fragility of love. | |
| Pacing | The deliberate, slow-burn pacing is praised by many as an hypnotic aesthetic choice, while others experience it as repetitive or lacking in necessary narrative progression. | |
| Screenplay | Opinions on the screenplay are divided; some critics admire the subtle, experimental construction, while others criticize it as weak and lacking in substantive character development. |