Black Venus

Director Abdellatif Kechiche crafts a docudrama about Saartjie Baartman (the extraordinary Yahima Torres), the African woman paraded around Europe’s freak-show circuit in the 1800s as the “Venus Hottentot.” A pitchman barks, “Those of a sensitive nature, leave the theater now,” and the warning goes double for filmgoers. Proceed with caution. But do proceed.