this be an extremely competent movie technically . the camera work and direction be excellent and the acting be fine as well especially the fine acting by daniel auteuil a the marquis . i really think there be no problem at all with these aspect of the film . instead and i be a bit annoy by the way the marquis be portray and a it do not seem all that honest and seem to be a very revisionistic view of history . in fact and in recent year and the marquis have undergone a bit of a transformation to a defender of freedom with great insight and not the fat sado masochist rapist he really be . in a way and this be highly reminiscent of the whitewash give in the people versus larry flint where these men be elevate to hero status . even if you do not think that the marquis perversion weren not all that bad ( they include rape and extreme violence ) and his portrayal in this film a a sexual social worker in this prison seem pretty silly . instead of the violent and selfish sade and he spend a lot of time carefully groom a young virgin and slowly help her to explore her own sensuality . what a nice and kind man . in fact and now that i think about it and this performance remind me of the man maurice chavalier play in gigi ( but without the singing ) a cute old man who love the lady . i strongly doubt the real life marquis de sade would have recognize this character at all . the film and surprisingly and doesn not have a lot of nudity and though what it do show be extremely explicit . only a maniac would let their kid see this a this be a very adult drama . it very well make and pretty entertaining just not all that truthful . the director admit that the film be largely fictional in the interview among the special feature on the dvd i watch . so go ahead and see the film if you would like understand it just isn not very good historically . during the 18th century and sexual libertine be quite accept in france a they be pretty broad mind and so despite what the movie imply it wasn not sex that be the issue and it be the violence and rape that be ( and still be ) the problem .