Thoroughly degrading experience

Here's the anatomy of hell: being forced to watch Catherine Breillat's Anatomy of Hell, a two-character study of sexual degradation, humiliation and existential despair.

Mercifully short, brutally explicit, and extremely French, Anatomy is about a nameless young woman (Amira Casar) who hires a gloomy gay man (Rocco Siffredi) to "look" at her - in very naked, very intimate detail. He schleps out to the woman's out-of-the-way abode for several nights in succession, goes up to her bedroom, watches her undress, and so on. Over the course of these soirees, the pair engage in penetrating discourse about how men see women and women see men. There are childhood flashbacks (he remembers killing a baby bird, she remembers playing "doctor" with the local boys) and doomy musings about life. The twosome also share some handy tips, including fun things to do with lipstick and gardening implements.

Almost all of filmmaker Breillat's work (her better-known titles: 36 Fillette, Romance and Fat Girl) grapples with thorny questions of sexual awakening and sexual identity, physical pleasure and emotional pain. Anatomy of Hell is adapted from Breillat's book, Pornocratie, and the director supplies doleful voice-overs from its pages.

The sexual acts - which are long, closely observed and rather odd - do not appear to be simulated. The setting is an old house perched near roiling seas, a perfect landscape for porn star Siffredi to wander after his exhausting bedroom labors. He meanders across the rocky cliffs, in the wind in the dark, contemplating the cruelty of it all - and whether he'll be able to find a cab to take him back to town.

Anatomy of Hell * (out of four stars)

Written and directed by Catherine Breillat. With Amira Casar and Rocco Siffredi. In French with subtitles.

Running time: 1 hour, 17 mins.

Parent's guide: No MPAA rating (explicit sexual acts, profanity, violence, adult themes)

Playing at: 7:15 tonight at the Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., and Sunday at 5 p.m. at The Bridge, 4012 Walnut St.

*

Below is a schedule of today's Philadelphia Film Festival events. Unless noted, day-of-show tickets are $7 for matinees (until 4 p.m.), $9 evenings, available all day at the venue box office. For information, ticket sales, and box-office locations, call 267-765-9700, Ext. 3, or visit www.phillyfests.com. For reviews, stories, and a link to the festival Web site, go to www.philly.com.

Noon Valentin (Argentina/Netherlands). Ritz East, Second Street between Chestnut and Walnut Streets.

12:15 p.m. Stormy Weather (Belgium/France/Iceland). Ritz East.

2:30 p.m. Free Radicals (Austria/Germany/Switzerland). Ritz East.

2:30 p.m. I'm Not Scared (Italy/Spain/Great Britain). Ritz East.

5 p.m. Dear Pillow (U.S.). Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St.

5 p.m. Bright Young Things (Great Britain). Ritz East.

5 p.m. The End of a Mystery (Spain/Italy). Ritz East.

5 p.m. No Rest for the Brave (Austria/France). The Bridge, 4012 Walnut St.

5 p.m. Control Room (U.S./Egypt). International House, 3701 Chestnut St.

5:30 p.m. The Kite (Lebanon/France). Bridge.

7:15 p.m. Anatomy of Hell (France). See cast box.

7:15 p.m. Miffo (Sweden). Ritz East.

7:15 p.m. The 4th Floor (Spain). The Bridge.

7:15 p.m. Moon Child (Japan).

I-House.

7:30 p.m. The Debutants (Chile). Ritz East.

7:45 p.m. The Danube (Austria). Bridge.

9:30 p.m. Mortadelo & Filemòn: The Big Adventure (Spain). Prince.

9:30 p.m. Cold Light (Iceland). Ritz East.

9:30 p.m. Pupendo (Czech Republic). Bridge.

9:30 p.m. "Dream Programme," shorts program. I-House.

10 p.m. Haute Tension (France). Ritz East.

10 p.m. King of the Ants (U.S.). Bridge.