-2024- - By Any Other Name -dorcel-

By Any Other Name is ultimately a film about the fragility of long-term desire. Its thesis is quietly radical: that we may need fictions—masks, aliases, roles—to access the most authentic parts of ourselves. The rose, regardless of its name, does indeed smell sweet. But the film adds a crucial corollary: sometimes, to smell the rose anew, we must pretend we have never seen it before.

Nonetheless, By Any Other Name was nominated for several 2024 XBIZ Europa Awards for Best Narrative Feature and Best Screenplay, ultimately winning the latter. It was lauded for proving that adult cinema can function as genuine auteur work, where explicit content serves character development rather than the reverse.

Raphael, equally unaware of her identity, is liberated by the anonymity. He speaks of his marriage with a brutal honesty he never dares express: the weight of routine, the fear of being known too completely. Alix, in turn, confesses her longing for a version of her husband that no longer exists—a man of risk and impulse. By Any Other Name -DORCEL- -2024-

By Any Other Name (Dorcel, 2024): A Rose of Desire in a Garden of Power Director: Luca De Sade (as credited) Studio: Dorcel (Marc Dorcel)

The film’s narrative centers on two primary protagonists: (played by a striking newcomer, credited as Alix Castel ), a sharp, observant literature professor in her late 30s, and Raphael ( Raphael Lafont ), a charismatic but emotionally guarded gallery owner. They have been married for a decade. The marriage, outwardly perfect, is internally sterile—a museum of curated affection rather than a living, breathing passion. By Any Other Name is ultimately a film

Upon its release on Dorcel’s streaming platform and subsequent DVD/Blu-ray release in Q2 2024, By Any Other Name drew comparisons to Radley Metzger’s 1970s classics ( The Image , The Opening of Misty Beethoven ) and Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta for its refusal to separate theology from sexuality.

In the landscape of 2024’s adult cinema, where rapid consumption often trumps narrative depth, Dorcel—the French studio synonymous with high-gloss, narrative-driven erotica—has continued its tradition of crafting feature-length films that prioritize mood, aesthetic, and psychological tension. By Any Other Name (2024) stands as a particularly ambitious entry in their catalog. Directed by Luca De Sade, the film’s very title, a direct allusion to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”), signals a preoccupation with identity, forbidden longing, and the arbitrariness of social labels. But the film adds a crucial corollary: sometimes,

Critics within the adult industry praised the film’s pacing, though some mainstream reviewers (in outlets like Le Monde and Variety , who have begun covering high-end erotica) noted that the film’s middle third sags slightly under the weight of its own philosophical ambitions. One recurring critique: the final act, where the masks are removed and the couple must reconcile their fantasy with reality, feels rushed. The film offers a neat, romantic resolution—a newlywed-like re-commitment—that some viewers felt betrayed the darker, more ambiguous questions the first two acts raised.