Breastmilk, or: Nurturing Intimacies
Britisch film-collective Four Chambers pushes boundaries with MAMAM, exploring the taboo fetish of breast milk. A mesmerizing journey into pleasure and happiness.
British film-collective Four Chambers returns to the Berlin Pornfilmfestival 2023 with MAMAM, a short film that delves into the taboo fetish of breast milk. In this unique work, performers explore the transgressive allure of lactation, revealing the intricate connections between pleasure, biology, and human desire. As we venture into the world of MAMAM, we witness the captivating beauty of breast milk, challenging societal taboos and inviting viewers to reconsider the boundaries of eroticism.
“Feeding, not consuming a body”
As a gay man, the author of these lines finds it somewhat challenging to approach the subject presented by the British film-collective Four Chambers in their contribution to the “Fetish Porn Shorts” program at the 2023 Berlin Pornfilmfestival.
Titled MAMAM, the work by the Festival regulars Four Chambers explores nothing less than the fetish of breast milk.
One of the most well-known depictions in Christian symbolism is the image of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the infant Jesus. However, beyond Christianity, the act of a mother nursing her baby at her own breast holds an archetypal, almost sacred quality. The sexualization of this act appears largely inconceivable and remains heavily tabooed.
The Happiness Hormone
Naturally, fetish carries a transgressive power that, in most cases, breaks down taboos—this holds true for breast milk as well. The ability to produce milk, as we learn in this simultaneously pornographic and documentary work, isn't necessarily dependent on pregnancy. It's a biochemical process within the body, governed by the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is one of the three so-called happiness hormones, and women can easily artificially induce it with pills.
As a result, it's not surprising that at the beginning of MAMAM, there's a short sequence showing pill containers being filled with tablets, and two tablets lying on the tongue and dissolving in the mouth.
This work centers around three performers: two women and one man. From the very beginning to the end, they provide us with insights into their experiences, perceptions, and thoughts on the fetish of breast milk and its realization. Through their conversation, they reflect on the multifaceted implications—the biological processes, how indulging in the fetish affects their sexuality, their bodies, and their body perceptions, ultimately enriching them.
Aesthetic and Sensual
They engage in discussions about the imagery, societal narratives, and taboos surrounding this fetish. Equally, they tackle questions of women's roles, their bodies, and the tabooing of forms of female pleasure at all stages of life, including during and after pregnancy.
Four Chambers presents a remarkably captivating 24-minute piece here. Not just because of the immensely multifaceted thematic universe it unveils. As in nearly all of their works, Four Chambers adeptly visualizes their subjects in a highly aesthetic and sensual manner. MAMAM might even serve as a prime example.
We follow the three performers lying on a large couch covered in dark rosé-colored latex, placed in an otherwise locationless space. The lighting is bright but gently muted, creating a somewhat ethereal atmosphere around the imagery. “Tasteful” would be another fitting adjective. They are not entirely naked; two of them wear short, light dresses, while one wears white pants.
The Female Breast, a Phallus
He lies between the two women, looking somewhat entranced, caressing their breasts, their nipples, and fondling their vaginas. The camera follows the play, incredibly tender, almost hovering, and quite palpable – truly fascinated. The two performers caress his face and mouth with their breasts, occasionally their hands venture to his underwear, where an obviously erect penis quickly takes its place.
But the focus here is not on the penis – at least not initially. The spotlight is on the breasts and what they provide. There are several ways to distribute breast milk: certainly, one can suckle and suck it. But, as these images show, it's much more fun to playfully squirt the breast milk all over, on the face and body. Using the nipples like little garden hose nozzles, or firmly pushing the breasts into the man's mouth – “feeding, not consuming a body.” Sub or Dom, if these categories even apply here, the division is clear.
Breasts themselves have a phallic quality; they are essentially a unique form of penis, as the performers notice during their conversation. “The beauty of lactation – a form of ejaculation.” Milk is its own kind of semen. Just as breast milk, semen is a product of complex biochemical processes, driven by the presence of happiness hormones.
No matter how strange all of this may still sound after the preceding lines, anyone who has seen the face of the male performer in the midst of MAMAM understands the immense power inherent in this fetish. It's a face of pure pleasure and happiness, of fulfillment and absolute serenity. As a viewer, you leave this extraordinary work, no less happy and peaceful.
MAMAM
UK 2022, 24’
Director, Writer, Producer, Camera: Four Chambers
Doc./Porn
(c) Fotos: Four Chambers/PFFB 2023
Available for Streaming at afourchamberedheart.com
Editors note: This review was first published in the German language on October 27, 2023. Translated from German with the aid of AI. Minimal adjustments were made to enhance clarity.
filmanzeiger is a Berlin-based blog focusing on cinema and the artform called film, delivering a independent view on moving images in cinema – thoug with a distinct non-interest in products from the commercial distribution-circus. Author Manu Schubert (he/him) usually covers the International Berlin Filmfestival (Berlinale) and the Pornfilmfestival Berlin (PFFB).