Kissed is the title of two very different movies.
Kissed, a
King Baggot directed silent
romantic comedy, was produced for
Universal Films and had its theatrical debut on May 22nd,
1922. The movie's female lead was noted Canadian silent film actress
Marie Prevost. It was a largely forgettable
formula movie, commonly produced by the big studios of the time.
The more recent "Kissed", starring stunningly beautiful
Canadian actress
Molly Parker, is the first film directed by
Lynne Stopkewich. The Canadian production is notable for its
erotic treatment of
necrophilia, and is largely based on "
We So Seldom Look on Love", a short story by
Barbara Gowdy. Kissed was easily the most
controversial movie shown at the 1997
Sundance and
Toronto International Film festivals. Widely critically acclaimed, it was nominated for several awards.
Synopsis
Kissed follows the life of Sandra Larson, a woman whose
sexuality becomes
entwined with
death in a very intriguing way. While necrophilia is an
aberrant condition, the film is more about
romantic notions, the nature of
obsession and
addiction than it is about
sex. We come to understand how Sandra romanticizes death, and embraces her abnormal desires. The film deals with this
taboo subject in a non-exploitive, non-graphic way. Sandra is as sick as other
addicts, which are commonly portrayed in films in a
sympathetic light, though her practices afford her experiences
alien to the public impression of
decency. Kissed does not tempt those to convert, by any means, though regards its subject with
sympathy.
The film starts with Sandra as a young girl, and explores her intense fascination with death.
Everyone has a dead bird story, and Sandra is no exception. Her play becomes
ritualistic, and secret burials of small
animals she finds deceased soon involve
mummification and
caressing. Sandra feels it is her job to care for the little dead things, and to help them
cross over into death. She soon makes a friend, Carol. Sandra soon involves Carol in her worship, and she is
horrified when Sandra
strips, dances and rubs the body of a dead squirrel around her body during a burial. The squirrels’ body
bleeds all over her.
Sandra is rejected by her only friend, and her mother, assuming the blood is from
menstruation, gives her a box of
tampons and "
the talk". Her strange obsession has alienated her only friend, and is now firmly linked with sexual
maturity in Sandra's mind.
As Sandra matures, so do her
appetites. Older and now working in a flower shop, a delivery places her in a
funeral home. She impulsively applies and soon has a job. After learning the tools of the trade, Sandra gives in to her
compulsion. She feels a deep
pity for the bodies in her care and her natural
human desire and capacity for love are expressed in her own
extreme fashion. The act of
sex allows Sandra to experience the lives and connect with the
deceased. In her mind, she is helping the dead to cross over into the
afterlife, with her
bliss giving them the final push. Her sexuality is entirely bound up in her
spirituality.
Despite her
obscene addiction, Sandra is an attractive, slender woman, and decidedly
open-minded. A
coworker at the funeral parlor, Matt, becomes extremely interested in her. Within a minute of revealing their names to each other, Sandra admits her
practices. Matt is not taken aback, and if anything is more interested. Sandra and Matt start a
relationship, but Matt feels that he is in
competition with the dead.
Jealousy drives him and pleasing Sandra becomes his obsession. The conflicting obsessions make for a interesting study about
the human condition.
Kissed is about
necrophilia, but it is also spirituality and
transcendence of the soul. Sandra performs what she feels is a
sacrament for the
departed. She truly feels that her body is helping send the lonely souls on to
heaven, and it is as much a
duty of hers as it is a
release. The audience ends up feeling
sympathy and
understanding for Sandra. Her desires fall outside the
mainstream, and she struggles with the question of acknowledging their nature, or denying herself sexual and spiritual
fulfillment.
"At the end of the shoot, every single person working on the film said they would choose cremation." - Director Lynne Stopkewich
Cast overview:
Molly Parker as Sandra Larson
Peter Outerbridge as Matt
Jay Brazeau as Mr. Wallis,
Mortician
Natasha Morley as Young Sandra
Jessie Winter Mudie as Carol, Sandra's
Best Friend
James Timmons as Jan,
Mortuary Janitor
Joe Maffei as
Biology Teacher
Robert Thurston as
Detective
Annabel Kershaw as Mother Larson
Tim Dixon as Father Larson,
Owner of Larson's Flowers
Amber Warnat as Lisa Brown
Bill Finck as
Minister
Janet Craig as
Mourner
Edward Davey as
Embalming Professor
Hamish Wilson as
Gurney Goner, a
Cadaver
MPAA:
Rated R for
aberrant sexuality and
foul language.
Runtime
78 minutes
Release Date
Video: Apr 20, 1999
Resources:
IMDB entry
Rotten Tomatoes Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Tribune Review