Eugenie Sex Happening

Third Jess Franco film I saw after Bloody Moon and Vampyros Lesbos. After seeing Soledad Miranda in Vampyros Lesbos, I was keen to see more of her films, and I wasn't disappointed, she really carried the film with her great screen presence. Very interesting story and great direction from Franco and interesting surreal visuals especially with the first murder, loved Soledad's red gear. A lot of nudity and sex but Soledad looks great. So all of you who love Soledad Miranda or Jess Franco this film is a must. I saw a lot of links to films such as Peeping Tomand the work of Hitchcock however this took it a lot further, which was great to see.

Jess Franco has made so many movies and has been part of the Euro trash consciousness for so long that the "idea" of Franco and his unique work is sometimes more powerful than the films themselves.

The exquisite Soledad Miranda is the main reason for spending ninety minutes with EUGENIE. She has a natural, magnetic, erotic presence that is both remote and engaging. She personifies the genre like no other.

Eugenie and her stepfather Albert (Paul Muller) indulge in semi-incestuous activities and murder a couple of attractive women for pleasure. A writer, played by Franco himself, usually turns up at the scene of the crime to communicate his approval or sound a warning that their crimes are not going unnoticed.

Ms. Miranda spends lots of quality time sitting around in ultra-skimpy skirts and in no skirts at all. Franco never misses an opportunity to glance between her enticing thighs or ogle her pretty bottom. His is the gaze of a true obsessive, and his muse (whom he was romantically involved with for some time) provides us with creamy erotic fantasy.

The film has a languorous, dreamy shooting style and the simple, sometimes haunting score (by Bruno Nicolai) smooths over the transitions. Sometimes the shots are out of focus or bumpy, but it doesn't really matter. Clearly, Franco was happy to apply an experimental style to films like this (and VAMPYROS LESBOS, for example) and he achieves a loose, dreamy effect.

I must admit, though, that I could have done without Paul Muller's hairy back during his major sex scene with Soledad (but that's just me).

This week-end I have watched another Jess Franco movie, my fifth so far: EUGENIE DE SADE (1970), or as the on-screen title would have it, simply, EUGENIE (by way of the recently released R2 DVD from Oracle Entertainment).

Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed by the film itself, especially in view of its reputation as possibly Franco's best. I liked certain aspects of it, surely, but on the whole I felt that it was somewhat overrated. For starters, there are numerous plot-holes which are just too blatant to be left without comment:

1. If Albert and Eugenie decided to start filming their murders just prior to meeting Paul (which eventually was to bring about their downfall), where did the footage which Franco's Tanner is watching at the beginning of the film come from?!

2. If Albert's intention was always to 'pervert' Eugenie (because as he tells her he had killed her mother for just this purpose), it is hardly plausible that he would have waited this long before attempting anything!

3. If Tanner knows just what Albert and Eugenie are up to, why does he need to pester Eugenie on her death-bed in order to discover what makes them 'tick'?

4. In her narration, Eugenie refers to Tanner by name (as if he weren't there) rather than address him directly; also, since Albert never had a chance to tell her he killed Paul, let alone how he did it, how come she knows about it?

I noticed other stuff that didn't quite come off:

· The entire hitch-hiker scene went on 'bloody forever' (as Brian Lindsey had described another scene from the film on the 'Eccentric Cinema' website)

· Soledad's strip-tease is more (unintentionally) comical than erotic (though she does otherwise strike a perfect balance between innocence and deadly allure)

· The Albert/Eugenie relationship, complete with gratuitous sex scenes, is unconvincing to say the least (Paul Muller is quite good, but miscast, here)!

· During Albert's attack on Eugenie, the scene displays a very discreet use of gore for what he is supposed to be doing to her (cut her open with a pair of scissors)!

Another aspect I was let down by was the extreme realism of the settings: of course, this may very well be what the subject called for but, to me, when compared to the sunny/tropical settings of EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (1969) and A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (1971) – to say nothing of the atmospheric 'noirish' ambiance of THE DIABOLICAL DOCTOR Z (1965) – both the autumnal Parisian backdrop of the first half and the scenes which takes place in a 'mod' (i.e. dated) Berlin seemed too mundane and failed to draw me into the proceedings as much as I would have liked! As for Bruno Nicolai's score (which some consider to be his finest work!), I did not find it to be especially memorable and, indeed, repeated the same motifs over and over.

Still, I have to say something about the quality of the DVD itself, because this had a definite bearing on my rather negative reaction to the film. First of all, the English subtitles flashed by very rapidly (causing me to miss some of the dialogue) but, worse than this, too often these did not even match what was being said in French (I can understand the language but I still prefer to watch it accompanied with subtitles)! Besides, in a couple of spots, subtitles appeared on the screen when none of the characters was actually speaking! By the way, does anyone know whether French was this film's original language (could it possibly have been German?); much as the English dubbing was horrid, I did not feel that the dialogue sounded very natural in French either. As was the case with A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD, the theatrical trailer included on the disc featured a number of alternate takes – not to mention that ultra-catchy riff from EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION!

I have resisted doing a proper review for this film, as I would like to watch it again before committing myself to pass judgment on it. Suffice to say that, for now, I consider EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION a much better film (perhaps the best Franco I've seen so far), and even A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (by any stretch a less 'coherent' film than EUGENIE DE SADE) was more readily enjoyable. To tell you the truth, my disappointment over EUGENIE DE SADE has practically brought my Franco experience to an indefinite halt. I almost cancelled the orders I made for both EXORCISM (1974) and JACK THE RIPPER (1976) and have postponed my purchase of the R2 DVD editions of VAMPYROS LESBOS (1970) and SHE KILLED IN ECSTASY (1970). Actually, in a few days I should be getting VHS dubs of 4 (!) new Francos - SUCCUBUS (1967), VENUS IN FURS (1968), LES POSSEDEES DU DIABLE (1974; aka: LORNA THE EXORCIST) and THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME (1979)! Hopefully, when I watch these films my initial 'admiration' for the work of Jess Franco will be re-awakened

Jess Franco has almost 200 directorial credits to his name, so with that in mind; it's not surprising that the vast majority of them are rubbish. Jess Franco certainly does know how to make a bad movie, but clearly he knows his way around a good one too, and while they're in a minority in the man's vast filmography; there are some very good Jess Franco films, and Eugenie de Sade is one of the very best of them! This is one of seven films that Franco directed in 1970 (the second titled 'Eugenie', no less) and it's a film that could almost be considered a shame; because it proves that Franco can be great if he put his mind to it, and I'd rather have ten films like than a hundred cheap and rushed sex flicks. Anyway, the main focus of the plot is the title character; Eugenie is a young girl who falls in love with her stepfather Albert; a writer of erotic fiction, after reading one of his books. It's not long before he notices and despite the incestuous implications of their relationship, he entices Eugenie to join him in his sick sex games that stretch into murder.

I have to admit that the main reason I was so keen to see this film was due to the fact that it stars the amazing Soledad Miranda. This actress made a number of films with Jess Franco (including two of his best, Vampiros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy) and it's a real shame that she died prematurely as she was a good actress and a pleasure to watch on screen. I have not seen many of her movies unfortunately, but from the ones I have seen - she is at her best in this one. She fits in brilliantly with the sordid tone of the film and creates just the right balance between innocence and sadism. The style of the movie is very European and Franco obviously valued how important it was to ensure that the film is erotic. There are several standout scenes; the best of which sees Soledad Miranda and Paul Muller entertain an Austrian hitchhiker that they picked up in the middle of nowhere. The film is apparently based on the writings of the Marquis de Sade; not having read any of his material, I can't say how faithful it is but there is plenty of sadism in this movie. The plot is strong for the duration and Franco manages a satisfying ending too. Overall, this is among the cream of Franco's crop and comes highly recommended to all Eurocult fans!

If Franco did a single great thing in his tortuous career, that was discovering Soledad Miranda.

Forget what the plot is supposedly about. If you don't have the DVD, there's an accompanying interview with Franco on making the film. His discussion of De Sade and how that informs his work is as boring as De Sade's own writings, but look how he lights up when he starts talking about Soledad. As an old man, you can tell he is still touched by having known her. It is the same mystique that enthralled Von Sternberg to Dietrich.

Born, according to Franco at least, to gypsy parents, she was a successful flamenco dancer and singer before making the transition to film. I've only seen her in this and Vampyros, she's great in both but in the extraordinary way of dancers. It isn't about acting, she wasn't much good in the sense Streep is good. It's having a presence, enchanting, teasing by simple breath.

As Franco talks of her, that segment is peppered with images of her from the film, the rest of the film was beginning to blur but every single one of those I could instantly remember—crouched before a fireplace holding her knees, grazing a thigh, splayed on a bed, pensive with sunglasses in the car, gypsy tinkle in the eye before murder, playful dancing out of her skimpy skirt, I will probably revisit the film years later and be able to recall every pose. And isn't this what the film is about?

It's Franco photographing Soledad.

There's a surrogate father here who, in essence, takes Soledad on the journey to staged erotic images. Franco is actually in the film as the 'writer' looking for a fascinating character.

It's probably his most pure, because it is most purely about his desire to photograph beauty (and murder). The film begins with a softcore scene that leads to strangulation, 'looked on' by Franco as the director. Framed as Soledad's confessional to Franco, the whole film is gauzy, erotic reminisces on a deathbed. So how poignant when you know that she was already dead when the film was released? That, framed as memory, this is the last we'll see of her?

And the images? The violence is tame by contemporary standards, which is for the better, fewer distraction. Being so blatantly stagy, it even adds to the effect. And whereas the male-driven story of violence is typically sloppy, the images, Soledad's images as she remembers, attain a unique quality. Soft around the edges, selfless by contrast to Sade's juvenile philosophy of selfishness.

Seeing select footage of this at some film festival, you'd call it experimental. Sometimes the camera roams over mundane details, sometimes it floats in air, sometimes it blurs and finds again, faces, textures of weather. It's as if someone is trying to remember, distorting, fixating, carried along by intruding thoughts—a sort of inverse visual Lolita.

It isn't self-consciously so, which again is for the better. A filmmaker with a semiconscious talent for images, films a woman (not outright sexy) semiconscious of her allure. It's great if you can drift in that space between them.