The Duke of Burgundy (2014)

Existing in an exclusively female world, couple Cynthia and Evelyn play out well-rehearsed sadomasochistic scenes of dominance and humiliation. But the exacting perfection of these scenarios starts to strain one partner who yearns for something different. With references to psychosexual classics like Belle de Jour (1967), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), and Mano Destra (1986), Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy is a brilliantly lush creation – intensely sexy, full of haughty wit and a disarming tenderness.