Romance is a film all about sex: detached, uncompromising sex. The title must be an ironic joke on the part of Catherine Breillat, since no such romance exists in it. Sex has always been a taboo subject and caused controversy in film, especially when sex scenes are performed unsimulated. Such was the case with Romance, which featured a scene of real oral sex. Add to that explicit scenes of penetration, sadomasochistic bondage, an ejaculation shot and a rather graphic birthing scene and, well, you can see why some cinema-goers might have had an issue with it. The casting of porn star Rocco Siffredi also raised eyebrows. Like many similar films, however, Romance got away with it because it was a French film. The British and American censors tend to be a lot more lenient when it comes to arthouse/foreign fare and Romance was passed uncut for theatrical release.
