8. The Baby Of Mâcon (1993)
In Macon during a period of famine and barrenness in the women, an old woman gives birth miraculously. Her daughter claims the baby as her own - a virgin birth and turfs the old woman into prison. She ruthlessly peddles the baby about - making money of desperate women's wishes. The church is both jealous and reluctant to believe her claims. The Bishop's son attempts to have it off with her in order to prove she is a virgin but before he can do the deed, the baby gets a bull to gore him. The Bishop is very angry at the daughter. He takes custody of the baby and begins to exploit it - even more so than the daughter. The daughter kills the baby by suffocation. She is sentenced to death but because she is a virgin, they cannot kill her and she is sentenced to be raped 208 times. Following that, she is executed. However, she dies as a result of the rape and the Church dismembers the baby and sells bits of it as holy relics. Mâcon is once again riven by famine. The Baby of Mâcon is a very unique and experimental approach to film making that could only come from the hands of Peter Greenaway. It takes the trappings of a theatre based production and converts it into a film with considerable aplomb. The story is a fascinating one. Of course whenever people think about this film, they have in their heads the rape scene which is naturally very shocking and horrific but if one concentrates on it too much, it detracts from the rest of the story. No one really has morals in this film. The daughter exploits the baby, as does the church. It is only fitting that Mâcon is struck down with famine in the end. The production is classy and the dialogue superb. The film is challenging, dark and disturbing - all in all a terrific, uncompromising British film.