This could be the shortest film review I've ever written if I chose to blurb Jess Franco's 1970 "Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion" thusly:If you see only one Franco-directed "Eugenie" film, don't make it this one.
While that's pithy, and this movie is not Franco's strongest effort, it's also needlessly dismissive of a film that provides the kind of delightful nudity, tingly girl-girl seduction, and revealing fashions that fans of early-70s Euro-softcore find so delightful. Based on episodes from the Marquis de Sade's La Philosophie dans le boudoir (just like Franco's superior Soledad Miranda vehicle "Eugenie"), this sex tragedy (I'm coining that shit RIGHT NOW--it's the more awesome opposite of the sex comedy) offers plenty of redeemingly mean-spirited BDSM to spice things up. Then there's the small matter of Christopher Lee having essentially been tricked (much like our hapless heroine!) into appearing such a kinky little flick. At least fellow character actor and Great Face of Cinema Herbert Fux, who also appears here, never pulled such dubiously truthy two-facery!
The film starts promisingly enough, with a red-lit scene of occult weirdness involving stocking-masked cultists and the sacrifice of a nude woman. We cut to young Eugenie (played by Swedish starlet Marie Liljedahl), who has been invited to spend the weekend at the Mediterranean island villa of her new friend and fellow Person of High Society, Madame St. Ange. Little does Eugenie know that her father has traded her innocence for sex with the icily seductive St. Ange, and that there are very wicked plans afoot that involve his daughter. Shortly after Eugenie's arrival on the island, St. Ange puts the lesbonic moves on the girl (bathing together: CHECK! Sunscreen application: CHECK! Girl-kissing: Double-motherfucking-CHECK!). St. Ange's brother Mirval looks on while all this innocent play takes place, and things take a turn for the dark after the pair (who are involved in a typically Sadean affair) drug Eugenie's drink and molest her. When she wakes up, Eugenie has hazy memories of the event, believing it to be a not-entirely-unpleasant dream. Picking up on the girl's willingness to participate in hijinks of a fetishey nature, St. Ange and Mirval offer her some Turkish cigarettes (rolled in colorful paper, no less!), and then junk gets really weird. Christopher Lee and his bedraggled steampunk brigade show up--they're supposed to be members of the cult from the beginning of the film--and there's a hallucinatory episode in which St. Ange and Mirval hideously abuse Eugenie. After this turned out to be a dream, I just stopped following the plot entirely, figuring the movie had gone off the rails. It did, and it continued to do so for the next half hour as Eugenie is seduced into increasingly bizarre acts that escalate to murder and madness.
Let's address the good stuff first, because the bad is well documented (as is generally the case with Jess Franco's filmography). There's a psychedelic jazz-inspired soundtrack that combines sitar ramblings with bump and grind burlesque, adding alternately dreamlike and lurid flavor to each scene. Madame St. Ange dons a variety of skimpy, pantsless, and/or see-through outfits that she carries with a haughty dignity. I've got to doff my cap to any woman who can wear black stockings, no pants, a white crochet serape, and a sombrero and still look sexy. Attempt THAT, Urban Outfitters catalog! Maria Rohm's portrayal of Madame St. Ange is deliciously amoral, and it's easy to believe in her scheming power.
The obviously intercuts in which Christopher Lee and the supernatural Pearlies are watching the sex scenes between St. Ange, Mirval and Eugenie are unintentionally hilarious--one could easily cut Lee's reactions into any montage, be it one of baby animals romping, scenes of Civil War destruction, or extreme sports mishaps. I want someone to turn "Christopher Lee's 'Eugenie' Reaction Shots" into the next Keyboard Cat. I also want to know how Mr. Lee could've thought that a movie based on the works of the Marquis de Sade could be anything other than Eurotrash softcore. But that's a story for another day, I'm sure.
The negatives are a bit overwhelming, however, and are ultimately what make this movie into one for completists, rather than for anything approaching a general audience. While Marie Liljedahl is undoubtedly beautiful, plush, and erotic and she sells her portrayal of the untouched innocent well enough she doesn't make Eugenie's titular Journey Into Perversion at all believable. Paul Muller reprises his role as Eugenie's dad (seriously, see "Eugenie de Sade" again instead--that's a fabulous flick), but here he plays a less central role as the sex-starved businessman who will sacrifice his daughter's well-being for a piece of (admittedly great-looking) tail. The cinematography is very strange here, with several scenes appearing to have been shot out of focus. I'm not sure if this is print deterioration or a gaffe (or bad aesthetic decision, for that matter) made at the time, but it does distract from the on-screen events. For a director as careful to use depth-of-field in his other works, it's surprising to see this kind of camerawork.
While "Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion" isn't at the top of Franco's body of work, it's got enough spice to attract fans of the director's work. For those who enjoyed seeing Marie Liljedahl in other softcore efforts, that actress' ample charms are on full display. Watcher be warned, however, that this can be a bit of a slog to get to the sexy, amusing, or melodramatic bits!
10 comments:
I have this sitting at home, and have yet to watch it. I was drawn in by Lee's presence more than the Franco connection; and I'm always willing to see anything Sadean.
In the book, Eugenie (if that was the character's actual name, I forget) was a willing, if occasionally timid participant. The libertines used sophistry rather than drugs to get her in the mood, and she turns to a full-on hellcat by the end (the things they did to her mother [shudder]).
Ah. Now I must watch it soon, and perhaps get working on that "keyboard cat" thing ;-)
The Christopher Lee reaction shot idea is priceless. I may have to insert some into the film I'm working on, and/or learn what a keyboard cat is.
I got this movie awhile ago when I heard it was going OOP, but it was a TRICK, it's still around.
I love the ridiculous little moments like Jack Taylor opening and closing the blinds in front of the sliding glass door, filmed so they fill up the widescreen frame, and the 'morning star' medieval weapon they beat Eugenie with, which is clearly a rubber ball painted black with fake spikes on it, covered with cheap blood so when they wave it at her skin it leaves a mark. I love Franco because he uses all the tricks my friends and I used in our super 8 movies we made as kids. I even had a morning star made the exact same way!!
It also captures the depressed, hung over feeling of waking up late in the afternoon on a tiny island, empty except for some weird obsessive pervert you can't escape. Man, I hate that.
Your review rocks! I love that your tackling the classics lately, like this and Your Vice is a Locked Room, etc.
I watched this film because I thought it might make an interesting double-feature with Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (both films about sexual awakening/corruption, both with extraordinarily long titles). It turns out I would've done better just watching Lemora a second time (which I did eventually -- and a third). A really mind-numbingly awful film.
I have to say, you have a lot more patience than I have. I think I gave up on this one after the third try. I kept falling asleep. How anyone can make a film THAT boring with that much copious nudity and kinky sex is beyond me. But that's Jess Franco for you, I guess.
I'm down with a Christopher Lee reaction shot meme, though.
I wonder if "Eugenie..." was just a big, cinematic joke which Jess made at the expense of producer Harry Alan Towers (like what Godard did to producer Joseph E. Levine in "Contempt")? Think about it. Jess had been making films for Towers for years, but my understanding is that the relationship was never very warm and cozy. In addition, Towers kept insisting that his wife Maria Rohm have at least a significant featured role in each film. So what better than to make Rohm run around almost naked in ridiculous outfits in a film about a debauched man who pimps his daughter out to his mistress (sort of like a producer having his much younger wife appear nude in his films so he can show off his good fortune to the world)? This may also explain why the film is one of Jess's laziest efforts, outside of his hardcore work from the 70s and 80s.
Well, I for one, loved this one. My favorite Franco films seem to be the ones most people dislike. I love the ones that are like a big long dream sequence. Succubus and Nightmares Come At Night are a couple of my favorites, I have to admit that I lost the plot part way through, but it's almost better that way. Stop paying attention and just let the atmosphere wash over you....if that makes any sense.
From now on, whenever anybody asks me what kinda movies I like, I no longer have to go through the "Horror, but not the kind of horror you think is horror" wringer any more, because the one and only correct answer is sex tragedy! That said, this is pretty much on the mark -- if you're the sort of person who can be talked out of seeing a Franco film then this is definitely one you can skip, and if not, well, welcome to the club. Also, no sympathy for Christopher Lee -- he knew who he was dealing with!
Darius, you'll definitely get a chuckle out of the Lee bits. Hearing what he's reading will definitely erase any possibility that he didn't know what type of movie he was acting in...! I think this movie falls down in its treatment of Eugenie for exactly the reasons you've outlined. You never get the feeling that she's participating in any of these acts because of urges to gratify herself--it's more about happenstance and unfortunate reactions.
Erich, I've purchased MANY discs under the ol' "going out of print" ruse! I've missed too many great--aaaand not-so-great--titles to not get nervous when I hear a rumor of a film's limited availability. I picked this one up at a convention--Blue Underground runs some great promotions on their discs and who was *I* to resist the temptation of another groovy Sadean flick? You're so right about Franco's in-camera flashiness, too! I've really started watching films with an aggressive eye for this kind of artistic decision, and I'll tell you that it makes a HUGE difference in the amount of glee I'm deriving from this kind of movie.
Nate, this one does miss the mark. While I didn't find it as intolerable a slog as you did, I have GOT to agree that "Lemora" is a much finer offering!
Doc M, I really need to find some way to transfer my bottomless patience with weird movies into my professional life. All my best skills are ENTIRELY unmarketable!
Fred, you make an interesting point about the Towers/Rohm thing! When I saw this starred Maria Rohm--who was relegated to more "Set Dressing" roles in other flicks--I was skeptical, but I've got to say that girlfriend was pretty darn creditable here. She was also attired in see-through apparel, which might've distracted me from ACTUAL quality of her performance.
DJ C, I agree completely about not questioning the plots in movies like this--worrying about sense is just going to wreck the experience. "Succubus" is a DAMN fine effort, and I've got to say it leaves this version of "Eugenie" in the dust. It's got the same kind of amazing soundtrack and beautiful actresses, along with the benefit of being gorgeously lensed and dreamlike to the Nth degree. GREAT stuff.
I'm delighted to have helped with your taxonomic efforts, DB! I have a hard time classifying these movies, too--they're exploitation films, but not the sticky-floor, ugly griminess that a lot of audiences immediately think of when confronted with that term. I'm a little disappointed not to've come up with "sex tragedy" sooner, considering the NUMBER of these damn things I watch!
I just watched this, though I did fall asleep for a bit (one of those weeks). Uncle Jess knows a thing or three about legs, doesn't he? In this one, if you weren't being showed legs, you were seeing butts. Sorry, I got off track.
Overall, not bad, save that the deviation from the source bothers me somewhat, but no one could make an honest-to-cheese Sade novel into a movie. Too many speeches, and too much anal.
BTW, I did not see the Lee weird reaction. Maybe that was snored through?
I think your review is pretty fair. I'm rather fond of this one, although I agree that Eugenie de Sade is a much more successful attempt at a Sadeian film. And yes, Maria Rohm is rather delicious.
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