Sündiger Sommer

The Dark Side of Tomorrow (1970)

* (out of 4)

Denise (Elizabeth Plumb) and Adria (Alisa Courtney) are best friends who are both married to men that they aren't completely satisfied with. While having lunch one day they notice a lesbian couple and realize how happy they appear to be. This gives them the idea of becoming more than friends but the results aren't what they expected.

THE DARK SIDE OF TOMORROW was re-released under the title of JUST THE TWO OF US but neither title did much for the film's popularity. Today the film is mainly remembered for being the directorial debut of Barbara Peeters who would gain fame for the 1980 cult classic HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP before eventually disappearing from the public eye.

This film here has its heart in the right place but I'm just not sure who this would have been targeted to. I say that because it was obviously an art film that simply wasn't good enough to compete with something by the various Europeon directors out there. Another problem was selling this as an exploitation movie was even worse because there's not enough nudity or sexuality to please that crowd.

The biggest problem is that there's just so much boring dialogue that it's easy to nod off during the film and quickly lose interest in its story and characters. It looks okay and features some decent performance but on the whole THE DARK SIDE OF TOMORROW was a complete bore.

I had no idea what this film was about when I downloaded it for free from archive.org. All I know is that I like public domain films and watch just about everything on their site. Imagine my surprise, then, when I found that this was a soft-core pornographic film (though very tasteful and mild by today's standards) and it addresses lesbianism and bisexuality--something quite shocking back in 1970.

When the film begins, Adrian and Denise are friends who share something in common--both their husbands work far from home and they are left together to fend for themselves much of the time. One day, the pair are out at a restaurant when they notice a lesbian couple sitting near them. Adrian seems disgusted by the couple but by Denise's reaction, you can tell that she is intrigued. So, later, when Denise puts the moves on Adrian, it isn't much of a surprise. What IS surprising is that Adrian reciprocates and they have a night of hot passion. However, although Denise is thrilled and wants to continue the affair, Adrian seems more like she's lonely for anyone- -and soon takes up with another man. Naturally Denise is hurt and she is left all alone. What's next for this couple? See the film if you'd like.

The film does present an interesting scenario. After all, you cannot expect women in a situation like this to LIKE being all alone most of the time and the fact that they'd turn to each other for love and affection is well presented. The problem with the film is that that acting isn't particularly good at times (particularly by the woman playing Adrian) and the ending is very, very vague and unsatisfying--like they just ended the film because they ran out of time or money. Still, a bit of a landmark film about lesbians, as it's quite sympathetic and the production values are very good. It's NOT some 'nudie cutie' film or the type picture that most today would consider pornographic--and the sex is rather restrained and tasteful. Worth seeing but certainly not a film for everyone.

Despite an overdose of social sincerity in the first half, this film basically emerges as your typical early 70s exploitation fare. It's about a couple of housewives whose husbands leave for a sporting trip so they decide to explore their relationship with each other, in a romantic way. One of the girls (I couldn't tell you which one at this point) gets really involved with it on a personal level and the other is just playing around and is really more interested in cheating with a neighborhood guy. There's a brief bit of action when the hubby finds out but other than that it's a lot of bad dialog and a little bit of hard exploitation. The serious girl goes to a drug party with a couple of lesbians and almost gets seduced by some kind of a big-shot art personality (another woman).

I found the girl on girl exploitation to be decent but quite brief and lacking in any kind of fetishism or visual humor. The girl on guy exploitation was even more dull. So if anyone is looking at this comment for a recommendation I'd tell you to avoid it unless you're particularly interested in the subject of Hollywood portrayals of homosexuality. If you already saw it and you're looking for more information I don't have any, and if you're looking for insight I don't think there's much to see into here.

The plot for this film centers on the lesbian affair, between two lonely housewives. Both of these women are neglected, by their frequently absent husbands. After seeing two lesbians showing affection at a café one day, the two housewives become intrigued.

The wives wind-up turning to each other for companionship, and eventually, a love relationship. The bedroom sex scenes between the wives are romantic, and tastefully filmed. They are also shown cavorting with each other through a park, on a merry-go-round, and riding horses along the beach.

One of the wives is seduced by a handsome young man, and this causes a strain in the relationship between the two women. The young man was only using the woman for sex though, and then he leaves her. Afterwards, she's left to ponder whether the lesbian relationship with her friend, is truly right for her or not.

Overall, the treatment of lesbianism in this movie, was positive. Especially considering that this film was made back in the 70s. Women's lib, had only just begun to filter into mainstream society by then. Even though society was already in a post-Stonewall period when this movie was made, the mainstream media was still basically homophobic in the 70s.

So this film does stand-out, as one that treats the subject of lesbianism with sensitivity, and in a non-judgmental way. It was ahead of it's time, in showing that lesbians were just as human, and worthy of respect, as their heterosexual counterparts. It was a bold way, to portray lesbians on film in the 70s. Highly recommended, for those interested in seeing a film about a tender, loving lesbian relationship.

a fun piece of historic film that is considered by many to be groundbreaking in one of its few positive portrayals of lesbians in the early seventies. story lines concerns two housewives who live next door to one another and spend their time going to an out-door café, the local amusement park and getting together with other housewives for a round of cards and drinks and conversation. the two female leads, while having lunch one afternoon see a lesbian couple holding hands and being affectionate in public. one of the wives confesses later to the other that she wants to have what the lesbian couple have...the two wives end up in bed together and things start getting rocky from there. while one views their brief affair as a fling and harmless the other starts to develop romantic feelings for the other. before you know it jealousy erupts and adultery is committed. while the film reel is out-dated and grainy at best, it is still fun to watch. the 70s clothing, furniture and green shag carpet are amusing bits.