When you’re told that a film-maker was influenced by de Sade you might expect to find quite a bit of sadomasochistic content in his movies. That’s not really true in general of Jess Franco. The sadomasochism was not the element that interested him in de Sade’s work. Franco was more interested in de Sade’s views on freedom, power and morality.
Franco was not naïve enough to be an uncritical admirer of de Sade. He thought de Sade’s ideas were important but he could clearly see the dangers inherent in those ideas. In Franco’s movies characters who live according to de Sade’s philosophy often find that things end really badly for them. This is especially so when two or more characters try to live by the Sadeian philosophy. People who pursue pleasure and perfect freedom are not always overly concerned about the effects on other people. But Franco still felt that de Sade’s ideas were challenging enough to be important, and he was correct. Understanding de Sade’s ideas makes the history of western civilisation over the past couple of centuries much more comprehensible. There’s nothing like a dose of de Sade to strip away one’s illusions.
Which brings us to Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion. It was produced and written by Harry Alan Towers.
There is sadomasochism in this movie but it isn’t really the main focus. For the characters who are pulling the strings it is mostly a means to an end. The focus here is on a young woman who becomes morally corrupted without being aware of what is happening to her. She is a pawn in a power game, manipulated by people for Hom the destruction of morality is an exquisite pleasure.
Eugenie (Marie Liljedahl) has an uneasy relationship with her parents. That’s not so unusual for a teenaged girl. Eugenie met the glamorous Marianne Saint-Ange (Maria Rohm) at a party and they’ve kept in contact. Marianne is having an affair with Eugenie’s father (played by Paul Muller). As the price for her sexual favours Marianne asks Eugenie’s dad for a small favour. She wants Eugenie to spend the weekend with her. Marianne has a private island. Marianne usually gets what she wants and soon Eugenie is on her way to the island.
Poor Eugenie has no idea what awaits her.
Marianne and her stepbrother (and lover) Mirvel (Jack Taylor) intend to corrupt Eugenie. They can think of nothing more exciting than the idea of taking innocence and corrupting it. The process begins right away.
Eugenie is subjected to sexual humiliation and beatings, but did these events really happen? Eugenie had been drugged. Perhaps she was dreaming. She remembers being whipped, but there are no marks at all on her body.
From this point on Eugenie is never quite certain about the reality of her experiences. The things that happen to her the following night seem real enough but by now Eugenie is hopelessly disconnected from reality. When reality finally breaks through the question is whether she is capable of facing it.
Eugenie is also introduced to the members of a kind of Sadeian coven led by Dolmance (Christopher Lee). They are planning something special for Eugenie.
Franco and producer-scriptwriter Harry Alan Towers were keen to do a de Sade film but what they wanted to do was to make such a film that would have an authentically Sadeian flavour without crossing the line into mere pornography. They did not want a movie that would be seen only in porno theatres.
They succeeded to a considerable degree. The movie is watered down compared to de Sade’s writings but it still packs a punch.
Those who accuse Franco of being technically slapdash will have a field day with this movie. It’s perhaps his most technically sloppy movie, to the point where it becomes a distraction. One yearns for a scene in which the camera is in focus for the entire scene. Francophiles always dismiss the technically slapdash nature of his films as being an unimportant detail. If Franco wasn’t worried about being technically polished why should we? On the whole I agree, but in this movie it does get distracting.
Which is a pity because the movie is filled with striking and disturbing images.
Christopher Lee certainly adds a suitably sinister tone to proceedings. Maria Rohm (a very underrated actress) is the standout performer as the wicked Madame de Saint-Ange. Marie Liljedahl (who had found stardom in Joe Sarno’s excellent Inga) was the perfect choice for the part of Eugenie, bringing just the right kind of wide-eyed innocence to her performance.
Blue Underground’s Blu-Ray presentation offers a fine transfer. Extras include another excellent analysis by Stephen Thrower and interviews with Franco, Marie Liljedahl and Christopher Lee (who expresses a great deal of admiration for Franco).
Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion is a surprisingly successful attempt to find the right balance for a de Sade adaptation. Highly recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment