Breillat famously used real sexual acts in the film to strip away the "gloss" of Hollywood romance, aiming for a raw, psychological realism.
Romance paved the way for future directors like Gaspar Noé and Lars von Trier to push the envelope of "unsimulated" cinema. It remains Breillat's most famous work because it refuses to give the audience an easy answer. It is a film about the loneliness of the body and the radical ways women reclaim their autonomy. Romance 1999 Movie Ok.ru