Beastly. Romilda (Lane) gets up to a bit of mischief in the woods.
dir-scr Walerian Borowczyk
with Lisbeth Hummel, Sirpa Lane, Guy Trejan, Pierre Benedetti,
Dalio, Elisabeth Kaza, Hassan Falle, Pascale Rivault, Roland Armontel,
Jean Martinelli, Marie Testaniere, Stephane Testaniere
release UK 4.May.01
75/France 1h33
Yes, it's utterly unhinged in every way, but Borowczyk avoids much of the stylish overkill of most films of this genre and period, and the result is surprisingly timeless. It's both a country manor romp, with people roaming the hallways making various discoveries and liaisons, as well as a gothic horror film about dark family secrets and creatures that leap out from behind trees. And it's also full of hilarious touches--each scene includes little subversive elements that keep us smiling, not to mention the director's obvious fascination with naked women and both male and female genitalia (the sex is all fairly cartoonish, with the exception of the graphic horse copulation scene at the beginning). The acting is uniformly bland, from the shifty family to the randy servant (Falle) and all the nubile young women who basically look and act exactly like Bo Derek in Tarzan. I'm not convinced this film deserves a proper release, but it's enough of an oddity to thoroughly entertain cineastes.
| very strong adult themes and situations, nudity, violence |
| 27.Apr.01 |
