Pintilie Gets Touchy Feely in Sex Positive ‘Touch Me Not’ | Blu-ray Review

Romanian director Adina Pintilie became one of a handful of women to snag the Golden Bear out of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2018 for Touch Me Not, and the first woman to win the distinction for her debut. And yet, it was almost universally critically panned upon its premiere, with a backlash akin to the ire Marisa Tomei received for winning a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for 1992’s My Cousin Vinny. The negative press surrounding the film didn’t help its box office potential (taking in a little under fourteen-thousand from its very limited theatrical run courtesy of Kino Lorber in March of 2019). Despite the lack of love, however, Pintilie’s film is a congenial and meditative portrait of human sexuality destined to be reclaimed, potentially as an obscure yet progressive time capsule from a culture obsessed instead with superficiality.

From our TIFF 2018 review:
“While Touch Me Not will most likely be a bit too blunt or a bit too clinical for audiences adverse to frankness in their depictions of sexuality, it’s a subversive calling card for Pintilie, whose approach revisits the revolutionary approach to the subject last utilized in the late 1960s, a period which, in retrospect, was more sex positive and body positive than our current climate obsessed with slut shaming and impossible physical perfection as a necessity of visibility and consumption.“

Disc Review:

Kino Lorber presents Touch Me Not in 1.78:1 with 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo. Picture and sound quality are serviceable for a film as clinical looking as its presentation. As a bonus feature, Pintilie’s previous short films are included on the release.

Short Films:
Five short films from Pintilie are included here: Nea Pintea: The Model (2005); Man at Work (2006/2008); Don’t Get Me Wrong (2007/2008); Oxygen (2010); Diary #2 (2013).

Film Rating: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
Disc Rating: ★★★/☆☆☆☆☆