QUILLS (2001)

Director: Philip Kaufman
Screenplay: Doug Wright
Runtime: 115mins approx
Country: USA
Rating: R (USA); 18 (UK); MA (Aus)

Synopsis: Imprisoned in France's Charenton asylum at the turn of the 18th century, the Marquis de Sade is a stately court jester in disheveled finery. Deprived of quill and ink, he writes with wine, then blood, then his own faeces — a descent into madness or an impassioned refusal to be silenced? De Sade smuggles manuscripts out of Charenton with help from Madeleine, a virginal laundress who relishes de Sade's scandalous prose — a divine irony since she was taught to read by asylum abbé Coulmier, whose desire for Madeleine is suppressed by Catholic propriety. The delicate dynamic of this trio is shattered by the arrival of Dr. Royer-Collard, a righteous hypocrite appointed to silence de Sade once and for all.

Cast:

Marquis de Sade Abbé de Coulmier Dr. Royer-Collard Madeleine Madame Le Clerc Delbené Simone Renée Palagie Prouix Valcour Bouchon

- GEOFFREY RUSH - JOAQUIN PHOENIX - MICHAEL CAINE - KATE WINSLET - BILLIE WHITELAW - PATRICK MALAHIDE - AMELIA WARNER - JANE MENELAUS - STEPHEN MOYER - TONY PRITCHARD - STEPHEN MARCUS

Poster:

Availability:
Amazon.com [DVD / VHS]
Amazon.co.uk [DVD / VHS]
Sendit [DVD / VHS]

Reviews:
Chicago Sun-Times
Film Threat [by Michael Dequina]
Film Threat [by Rich Cline]
Empire

Media:
Joaquin Phoenix Audio Interview [MP3, 899KB]
Kate Winslet Audio Interview [MP3, 723KB]

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