Venus in Fur

Venus in Fur is a 2013 French language erotic drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on the play of the same name by American playwright David Ives, which itself was inspired by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's novel Venus in Furs. It stars Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric, the only actors in the film. The film premiered in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival on 25 May. In January 2014 the film received five nominations at the 39th César Awards, winning for Best Director. Plot Thomas Novacheck is the writer-director of a new play, an adaptation of the 1870 novel Venus in Furs by Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Early in the movie, we learn that the book begins with a quote from the Book of Judith: "And the Lord hath smitten him and delivered him into a woman's hands." The film begins with Thomas alone in a Parisian theatre after a day of auditioning actresses for the lead character, Wanda von Dunayev. Thomas laments on the phone about the poor performances he's had to deal with.