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Film: Good Little Girls
Release date: 28th June 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Jean-Claude Roy
Starring: Jessica Dorn, Marie-Georges Pascal, Cathy Reghin, Sylvie Lafontaine, Michèle Girardon
Genre: Erotica/Comedy
Studio: Naughty/Nucleus
Format: DVD
Country: France
John Claude Roy’s 1972 erotic film, being released on DVD for the first time, is a light-hearted coming of age story set in rural France and focusing on the sexual awakening and exploration of a group of teenage girls.
Good Little Girls focuses on an upper class family, Madame de Fleurville and her daughters Camille and Madeline. Madame de Fleurville hosts a TV sexual education show, and is clearly an open minded mother, who invites celebrities and socialites round to the family dinner table in order to progress her daughters’ understanding of the world, both politically and sexually, and encourages them to read from their late father’s collection of books. One of these books, ‘The Story of O’ particularly attracts the girls attention with its depictions of bondage and sexual humiliation, and so begins a period of experimentation in the girls’ previously innocent lives.
When the girls rescue Madame de Rosenbourg and her daughter Marguerite from a car accident, the two come to live with the family, and it becomes apparent that Marguerite shares the girls’ new found interest in sexuality, thus beginning a summer of garden parties, boys and many visits from the family’s virile doctor…
The opening credits of Good Little Girls is a classic example of 1970s European erotica, in both its playful animation and music - the same music that highlights many of the films more comic moments. Unfortunately, these opening credits and the film’s soundtrack are about the only positives that can be taken from the experience of watching this film.
Clearly we are not dealing with a film that is to be taken seriously, even aspects that could be dealt with somewhat more solemnly, such as a possibly psychopathic neighbour who enjoys pain on account of the whippings she has receives from her abusive stepmother, are laughed off as simply another crazy sexual experience. However, the film’s light-hearted tone is by no means the main area of complaint, this is after all erotica we are dealing with, traditionally not a genre that lends itself to extended periods of dramatic reflection.
The problem with Good Little Girls is that the story seems to drift from one pointless sexual experiment to another, making the voice-over narration and title cards between scenes seem almost comically redundant. There is no explanation as to why the girls decide to, for example, tie their new house guest up and then release her when she becomes uncomfortable, and there is little or no consequence either internally or externally of them having done so. In one moment, Marguerite is lamenting the lack of ‘boys’ in the house, in the next a group of vacant, statuesque men in pants have appeared in the garden. We do not know where these men come from, who they are, or where they keep the rest of their clothes. There is no attempt to portray any kind of inter-relationships in the group as the men are happy to enjoy alone time with any one of the girls, and the girls don’t seem to care very much which one of the men they end up with.
Things are no more logical in the adult characters, as the possibility of a love triangle between Madame de Fleurville, Madame de Rosenbourg and the family doctor is laughed off as quickly as it is raised, as the doctor proceeds to have sex with just about every woman in the house in the space of one evening, even having to rely on some kind of love potion that the housemaid brews in order that he may continue.
Of course, in the realm of erotica, narrative development is never at the forefront, but with so little to excite the viewer in Good Little girls, the fact that there is no real storyline means that the film becomes very tiresome very quickly. Attempts at drama are never edgy, attempts as humour are never very funny, and attempts to follow who is who, who is sleeping with who and why are likely to leave the viewer as dizzy and confused as they are bored.
The only area where the film gains any kind of points is aesthetically, the characters are, for the most part, incredibly beautiful, and the costume and set designs are likely to resonate well with viewers with an interest in fashion.
Some will take enjoyment in the tacky nostalgia of the whole affair an in this sense it is as typical an example of 1970s French erotica are you are likely to see. However, the style and glamour with which Good Little Girls is put together does not excuse the sheer lack of plot or interest that is contained within.
A relic of a bygone era that may be enjoyed by some as a silly reminder of 1970s European erotica, but should be avoided by anyone who does not wish to have 85 minutes of their life wasted. PK
Film: Don’t Look Down
Release date: 26th July 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 84 mins
Director: Eliseo Subiela
Starring: Leandro Stivelman, Antonella Costa, Hugo Arana, Mónica Galán, Octavio Borro
Genre: Erotica/Drama/Romance
Studio: Axiom
Format: DVD
Country: Argentina/France
Produced back in 2008, Magic Realist filmmaker Eliseo Subiela’s Don’t Look Down has finally found its way into UK circulation after experiencing problems with the Argentina film censors with regards to the film’s sexual content. Nevertheless, the film went on to secure wins at the Latin-American Film Festival (Best Film) and the Montreal Film Festival (Best Latin-American Film) two years ago.
When his father dies, 19-year-old Eloy (Leandro Stivelman) begins to sleepwalk during the night, whilst by day he sees visions of his father carrying handfuls of nuts and bolts, as well as rows of the dead sitting in front of the wall of the local cemetery. Eloy seems to have some higher form of spirituality. For a brief time, he is convinced that his father has been trying to communicate with him through his school exercise book.
During one of his sleepwalking perambulates, Eloy falls through the open skylight of a neighbour’s house, landing on the bed of Elvira (Antonella Costa), who is staying with her grandmother whilst on vacation. Both Elvira and her grandmother share a somewhat spiritual outlook on life - the grandmother is a therapist whereas Elvira is a studier of Tantra. Eloy and Elvira strike up a relationship and soon enough the more mature Elvira begins teaching Eloy the infinite possibilities of Tantric sex…
Constructed around the teachings of the Karma Sutra, it comes as no surprise that Don’t Look Down comes across more as a sex manual rather than as a fully formed story of romance and coming of age. Rather than the lovers wanting to explore each other both as people and playmates, their chief concern is that Eloy achieves a predetermined number of thrusts before he succumbs to pleasure, leading to a shallow and somewhat tedious viewing experience. Most of the film consists of the two interlocked in various Sutra recommended positions, whilst an early scene sees Eloy deciding on what to call his penis - he settles for Marlon in the end, in honour of the late Mr. Brando.
When they’re not naked, Eloy spends a lot of time dressed as a sandwich as way of part-time employment, or delivering ornaments and headstones to the local graveyard on his bike. The latter is usually accompanied by a ponderous voice-over discussing sudo-spirituality and reinforcing Eloy’s unexplained ability to see the dead languishing in deckchairs outside the cemetery they’re buried in. Eloy is also a keen stilt-walker; a stroll with Elvira four meters off the ground provides one of the film’s weirder images. Some of the film’s more entertaining moments surface during these magic realist segments, however, said moments are few and far between - nor is their potential truly fulfilled.
Performances all round are satisfactory. Stivelman, while a fairly attractive young man, sports a confused, mouth slightly agape expression for most of the film’s meagre running time. Costa, on the other hand, displays far more screen presence and chemistry but is still unable to elevate the prolonged Tantric contrivances between the two good-looking leads beyond being merely adequate. Also, it’s difficult to determine whether Elvira genuinely cares for Eloy, save for his increasing technique in horizontal refreshment. For Elvira, it only seems to be about sex. Only Eloy’s ghostly father (Hugo Arana) gives the film any true sense of warmth and charm. It would’ve been nice if he appeared more often.
However, to the film’s credit, the frequent sexual intercourse on display is handled, for the most part, in a very tasteful manner, and certainly doesn’t exhibit the awkward and embarrassed execution seen in many a Hollywood outing. It may be worth pointing out that all of the sex in Don’t Look Down is simulated, which admittedly does garner some steamy results. However, the problem lies in the sheer quantity of the act that holds little development except for the decidedly half-baked concept that their love-making may possess hallucinogenic properties – realised through Eloy having visions of visiting places and cities all over the world – not to mention plenty of rodomontading pillow-talk about sexual prowess and the like.
A commendable aspect of the production is director Eliseo Subiela’s eye for framing and composition, with the majority of the film’s cinematography looking wonderful. Through a combination of photography and art direction, Don’t Look Down offers a timeless look showcasing a 21st century Buenos Aires that could easily be mistaken for the Buenos Aires of forty or fifty years ago. The film certainly has a very classic feel, sticking to the more historical parts of the city – a labyrinth of weathered apartment blocks and rooftops. Again, the sex scenes are tastefully choreographed and framed, avoiding cheesy temptations, such as having a foreground object blocking certain body parts.
Don’t Look Down suffers from a distinct lack of purpose: too steamy for mass consumption; too sweet and naïve for seasoned skin watchers. Amidst the lovely camerawork, there is plethora of missed opportunities resulting in a well crafted film devoid of any substance, as the rather ponderous script fails to gain momentum or any real sense of focus for that matter. The results are watchable but highly disposable, with some eye-candy thrown in for good measure. MP
