The exploration of control and submission in various interpersonal encounters. Production and Impact

Unlike traditional Hollywood rom-coms, Romance (1999) offers a raw, intellectual exploration of female desire. The plot follows (Caroline Ducey), a young schoolteacher living in Paris. She is in a dead-end relationship with a handsome but emotionally vacant male model named Paul (Sagamore Stévenin). Paul refuses to have sex with Marie, claiming he no longer finds sex meaningful, yet he refuses to leave her.

Marie, a young schoolteacher, is in a suffocating relationship with Paul, a handsome model who refuses to have sex with her. He tells her he still loves her, but he finds sex “trivial.”