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:
Info

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.

Genre

Drama, History

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Director

Peter Greenaway

Production Companies

Cine Electra

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The Baby of Mâcon Audience Reviews

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
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?
Lennart Regebro This movie is about many different things at once, and is played out on several different levels at once. On the surface, the movie is about the setting up of a play about a historical event. Peter Greenaway lets the storyline switch between the play and the historical event, thereby breaking down the barrier between the movies play and the movies reality, and simultaneously breaking down the barrier between the movie and reality, making it near impossible to brush of the events as "Ah, it's just a movie".The way he does this is so skillful, that somebody should invent a Nobel price in directing and give it to him. :)This is a movie lovers movie. If you aren't a cineast and would rather see a guy with two machine guns killing people that spend an hour or two thinking, forget about it. It will only make you confused. And if you are a sensitive person, this movie might make you feel bad for days.
dactyl spondee As all of Peter Greenaway's films, this one is a feast for the eyes. A beautifully shot and staged Grand Guignol horror, that is as certain to please some as it is to cause revulsion in others. It certainly won't give you an easy time of it, but if you're willing to ignore such things as plot and story you can enjoy some of the purest eye-candy ever filmed. I enjoyed it, but wouldn't recommend to my friends without a word of warning.
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.