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The Baby of Mâcon

The Baby of Mâcon

Drama · History · 1993

In 17th-century Tuscany, a church play is performed for the benefit of young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.

Movie details

The Baby of Mâcon

“Exploring thoroughly modern taboos”

1993 Drama · History 2h 2m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

In 17th-century Tuscany, a church play is performed for the benefit of young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Baby of Mâcon?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Peter Greenaway

Written by

Peter Greenaway

Julia Ormond

Julia Ormond

The Daughter

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes

The Bishop's Son

Philip Stone

Philip Stone

The Bishop

J

Jonathan Lacey

Cosimo Medici

Don Henderson

Don Henderson

The Father Confessor

Celia Gregory

Celia Gregory

The Mother Superior

Jeff Nuttall

Jeff Nuttall

The Major Domo

Court is in session

Put The Baby of Mâcon on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.