Since ‘Poor Things’ premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August 2023 and won the Golden Lion for Best Film, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest work (‘The Favorite’) has been considered one of the most anticipated films of 2024. FILMSTARTS editor-in-chief Christoph Petersen, who was allowed to see the steampunk fable in Venice, promises us nothing less than a masterpiece, which he is happy with 5 stars forgave.
He calls the film, among other things, a ‘hilarious sex satire’ in which Lanthimos continues where Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ left off. The film became known in the US because of the revealing performances of the leading actress in particular Emma Stone a so-called R-rating, the mature rating.
In Europe this month, ‘Poor Things’ finally awaits us on the big screen – although British film fans have to live with one limitation.
Such as among others writes the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification), which can be roughly compared with the local FSK, the film is approved only for children aged 18 and over. That’s not the excitement that matters, because on this train it became known despite the high age rating a scene from the film had to be cut in order to be shown at all.
The scene in question involves sexual acts taking place in the presence of children, which the BBFC believes is incompatible with the Protection of Children Act 1978 in UK law. The slightly shortened version will be available in British cinemas from January 12, 2024.
In Germany, the film has been approved by the FSK for children aged 16 and over and will be shown in the unabridged version in cinemas. From January 18, 2024, you can see the 5-star masterpiece in this country with your own eyes.
That’s what ‘Poor Things’ is about
The eccentric and deformed scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) has a new experiment: Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) is a young woman who appears mature at first glance, but appears to have the mental development of a baby. Student Max McCandless (Ramy Youseff) must document how she quickly learns new things. But he soon falls at Bella’s feet and is ripped from his sheltered existence by her.
And then Bella meets shady lawyer Duncan Wedderbaum (Mark Ruffalo), who wants to show her the sweet side of life – especially sex, which quickly becomes Bella’s favorite pastime.