Bibi (1974)

One of the exasperating things about exploitation movies of the 60s and 70s is that so many of them were released under so many different titles. Joe Sarno’s Bibi, the subject of this review, has also been released as Confessions of a Sex Kitten, Confessions of Sweet Sixteen, Vild på sex and on DVD as Girl Meets Girl. They’re all the same movie. And, as was more or less standard for such films, there were different cuts of the movie for different markets.

After making some extremely interesting sexploitation features in new York in the 60s Sarno started making movies in Europe. This allowed for much higher production values and also allowed him to shoot in colour. His first European movie, Inga, had been a major hit and Sarno enjoyed working in Europe. Around 1973 Sarno discovered a young Swedish actress named Marie Forså and cast her in his first (and only) horror film, Vampire Ecstacy (AKA The Devil’s Plaything AKA Veil of Blood). His next and very obvious movie was to put her in something a lot raunchier and the result was Bibi. A year later he starred her in the even raunchier Butterflies (AKA Butterfly, AKA Broken Butterfly).

Bibi (Marie Forså) is an innocent young girl who goes to stay with her aunt Toni. Only Bibi isn’t as innocent as she looks. She proceeds to seduce absolutely everyone in town, male and female. Along the way she builds up her trophy collection. Bibi looks like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth but she’s quite the sexual predator.

This sounds like it’s just an excuse for an endless series of sexual encounters. And we are in fact treated to an extraordinary array of sex scenes. This is however a Joe Sarno film. Sexual liberation is a fine thing but if you go around having sex with everyone you meet there are going to be emotional complications. There is no such thing as consequence-free sex in the world of Joe Sarno. And love always has consequences, which can be good or bad. Sarno was no moralist. He wasn’t saying that sex is bad, he was merely pointing out that it isn’t free.

There are plenty of consequences for Bibi’s sexual partners. The setup here is a little bit similar to that in his superb Abigail Lesley Is Back in Town. There are some complicated and unconventional relationships (such as a foursome all living under the same roof) but they’re relatively stable. At least they’re stable until a new player (in this case Bibi) is thrown into the game. Then these emotional houses of cards start to topple. And, as in Abigail Lesley Is Back in Town, the effects of Bibi’s arrival are indirect as well as direct.

Bibi was shot in and around Munich, and on 35mm, and there’s plenty of location shooting (in other words there’s plenty of sex outdoors with pretty scenery in the background as well as indoors). With his European movies Sarno was aiming for a classier and much less seedy look compared to his early American films. While personally I love the seedy quality of 60s sexploitation there’s no doubt that in this case Sarno’s commercial instincts were correct, and mostly he succeeds.

Despite being made entirely in Europe Bibi was shot in English (Sarno and producer Chris Nebe being well aware of American audiences’ intense dislike of dubbed or subtitled movies). The European accents do however help to give it that European Sex Film vibe which probably also helped at the box office (where Bibi did pretty well).

It was shot almost entirely in the house of a friend of producer Nebe and the setting conveys a feeling of upper middle class elegance, and upper middle class decadence.

Marie Forså is perfect, managing to seamlessly combine innocence and licentiousness. She was apparently verry enthusiastic when it came to filming the sex scenes.

This movie is softcore, or at least it was edited as softcore, although it seems possible (according to Chris Nebe’s recollections) that at least some of the sex is non-simulated. Certainly in Butterflies the sex is not simulated.

There’s an astonishing number of lesbian sex scenes but plenty of heterosexual scenes as well. There’s a touch of S&M which actually works because the character involved really does seem like a woman who would be into something like that. And there’s at least one seriously kinky scene involving the same lady.

There are even a couple of humorous touches which you don’t expect in a Sarno movie. The lecherous birdwatcher not only adds a few laughs it also adds yet another sexual kink, voyeurism.

Retro Seduction Cinema have done a fine job with the DVD release. The transfer is generally very good with strong vibrant colours. There’s an interview with Sarno and producer Chris Nebe and Nebe is also featured in a very informative audio commentary.

Bibi is a good example of mid-70s Joe Sarno, pushing the edge of the envelope as far as softcore is concerned but with Sarno’s trademark touches - it has some emotional depth and some melodrama it’s sexy without feeling sleazy. Highly recommended.