Cross over into a world where life ends and true passion begins, where the thrill of life is not inthe living but in the transcendence into death. Kissed is a "gripping" (Vogue) love story that "will haunt you for a good l... more »ong time" (Rolling Stone).Ever since she was a young girl, Sandra has been fascinated with death. When she takes part-time work at a funeral parlor, her obsession with the dead begins to consume her every thoughtand desire. Her secret obsession, however, interferes with her burgeoning relationship with her boyfriend, Matt, forcing him to embark on a personal crusade to prove that he will go to great lengthsand sacrificesto make her love him!« less
"brace yourself. if you are squeamish or tend to faint at the sound of the word necrophilia, you will probably not care to read the reviews let alone rent the videotape. let me tell you upfront that you'd be making a huge mistake & missing out on a truly remarkable film which never really has gotten it's dues. molly parker gives a full-bodied(no pun intended) performance as a young woman by the name of sandra obsessed with deceased young men. it's as if our lead character sandra can feel their dreams, their sadness, & is able to somehow make a connection with these expired young bodies as she later tells us. for some strange reason, this provides comfort & consolation i suppose for it eases her mind that she too will one day cross over as well. to complicate matters only worse, sandra meets a young college student who is as intrigued by her fascination with death as he is romantically attached to her. needless to say, their relationship takes an awful turn as the film progresses. although quite sad & a bit eccentric, kissed reminds of us how we fail to see while we are still in the world of the living. it seems as if we only notice certain things about ourselves or others after they have crossed over or left their earthly home. many could argue or debate that we shouldn't be reminded through a controversial film such as this but then how could appreciate life anymore without it? watch kissed with an open mind & brace yourself once again as you hear the haunting music of sarah mclachlan while the credits pass before our eyes."
Necrophilia is not what this is all about
G. A SENDEROFF | North Miami Beach, FL | 04/15/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It is about a coming of age for the heroine of the movie, Molly Parker. She plays a woman who is obsessed with young deceased men and finds herself working at mortuaries so that she can be intimate with them. While I do not think necrophilia is something positive, it is a psychopathology that does occur and often by employees in the funerary business.
Again, the film is an interesting and under-rated one that is quite interesting, well-acted and quite enjoyable. I love films that are creatine and this one is definitely for you broad-minded people who want to see something artistic and not mainstream, yet done tastefully. Without giving away the plot, I highly recommend this contraversial film."
Do not believe what you can not see
Rodney W. Cope | Iowa | 08/30/2004
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I saw this film on IFC. It was a very interesting film with great acting by Molly Parker. I order this film, and low and behold they had chopped it to pieces. It was hard to understand the characters. All the necrophilia scenes were severely cut and this is what the film was all about. Do not waste your time buying this if you want the whole film. Wait for a director's cut which will hopefully show the film for what it was meant to be"
A wonderful film based on a wonderful story
Mark T. Lancaster | Baltimore, MD United States | 12/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This movie is based on a wonderful, transcendent short story by Barbara Gowdy that's called "We So Seldom Look on Love". It's a very faithful adaptation. The story and movie deal with a young woman's perceptions of the recently dead, the spiritual energy that they radiate, and her very special relations with the departed. The adoration of a body as its energy is blazing away from life to death is presented in such a way as to make the act known as necrophilia into something holy, a spiritual service to the departed, and an act of communion for the lover of the dead.
This excerpt from the prologue of the story gives a good flavor for what you may expect in the film:
"When you die, and your earthly self begins turning into your
disintegrated self, you radiate an intense current of energy. There is
always energy given off when a thing turns into its opposite, when love, for
instance, turns into hate. There are always sparks at those extreme points.
But life turning into death is the most extreme of extreme points. So just
after your die, the sparks are really stupendous. Really magical and explosive.
I've seen cadavers shining like stars. I'm the only person I've ever
heard of who has. Almost everyone senses something, though, some vitality.
That's why you get resistance to the idea of cremation or organ donation. 'I
want to be in one piece,' people say... [but] no matter what you do - slice open the flesh, dissect everything, burn everything - you're in the path of a power way beyond your little
interferences."
The story and the movie are both exquisite creations, remarkable achievements, and carry my highest recommendation."
SUSPEND YOUR DISBELIEF--AND YOU MAY LIKE IT
David R. Eastwood | Long Island, NY | 05/01/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Director/producer/writer Lynne Stopkewich seems to be improving steadily. Finally, in this low-budget film, a professional "feel" is present most of the time.
The acting of the two stars--Molly Parker as Sandra Larson and Peter Outerbridge as Matt--is flawless. She appeared in Stopkewich's SUSPICIOUS RIVER and is probably best known as the elegant widow in HBO's series "Deadwood"; he appeared in LUCKY NUMBER SLEVEN as Dumbrowski. A few of the other actors are adequate, but several come across as rather wooden and amateurish.
The basis of the plot is a Stephen-King-like premise: Ms. Parker's character believes that for a short while dead people's bodies still contain some sort of vital energy which is released if one "loves" them, allowing the living "partner" to know the individual, unique essences of these people to a degree otherwise impossible in human life. While working at a funeral home, Sandra has tested this many times before she meets Matt. When she tells him what she has been doing and why, he is intrigued and then wishes to confirm this for himself, but she refuses to take him to the funeral home after hours to do so. Can you guess HOW he is able to get around her refusal in order to discover whether she is right? (It makes "sense" in a way, but be warned: if somebody close to you has died violently in the last 3 or 4 years, you may not be ready for Matt's solution. You may never be ready.)
As for the necrophilia, ho---hum. It is "tastefully depicted" (as much as such a thing can be). Certainly some people will be too sensitive to deal with even the mention of the topic, but here it presented as a weird sort of SPIRITUAL THING and NOT some sort of kinky erotic turn-on for the audience--or some ghoulishly horrible act."