L'esclave

This movie falls somewhere between "Last Tango in Paris" and "The Story of O". It doesn't have the realism, the pathos, or the character development of the former, but it also isn't exactly an enjoyably silly sex fantasy like the latter. Like all Metzger films it is well-photographed and classy in a way, but it also contains some hardcore porn scenes which might leave a bad taste in some peoples' mouths (no pun intended).

The story is about a man who meets a jaded older woman who in turn introduces him to a younger woman "Ann" who she is training as a sex slave. Carl Parker, who also had a small part in Metzger's "Score", is pretty good as the man. The young woman played by the pseudonymous "Mary Medum" is also decent, even though she looks more like a young American "soccer mom" than an exotic Euro-beauty like Maria "Last Tango in Paris" Schneider or Corrine "Story of O" Clery. (Thus for me this movie was more of a fantasy of what I'd like to do to that idiot that nearly ran me off the road in her SUV last week while blabbing on her cellphone than it was a sex fantasy). The older woman, on the other hand, is pretty much a superfluous character--for some reason S and M seems a lot classier when it's a woman doing it to another woman at the behest of a man rather than a man directly doing it to a woman. (Not that this movie is too "politically correct" by today's standards--and thank god for that!)

I guess I'd recommend it, even though it's not that sexy on one hand, and pretty hard to take seriously on the other.

The Image (1975)

*** (out of 4)

Jean (Carl Parker) runs into an old friend (Marilyn Roberts) at a party and soon she's teaching him about her slave Anne (Rebecca Brooke) and before long both are taking part in the S&M practices. Radley Metzger's erotic film isn't going to be for everyone but those who enjoy watching these older adult movies should find this one here to have quite a few good touches. Metzger would push the hardcore genre more mainstream a couple years later with THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVER and while this film here isn't nearly as good you can still see the blossoming of the young director as he was experimenting with more erotic films. I think the best thing about this movie is the direction by Metzger because he certainly isn't just trying to deliver some sort of bump and grind movie and instead he's pushing something more classy. Now I'm not going to sit here as some sort of snob and say this is better than your typical porn movie because it isn't. Those mindless sex pictures serve their purpose and I think a film like this one has its own purpose so comparing the two or ripping one while praising the other would be pointless. There's no doubt that this movie is extremely well made and there's a certain craft and style to appreciate. This is especially true with the editing, which really takes the movie to a whole new level. The way the sex scenes were edited gave them a certain atmosphere and really made you feel the dirty, erotic sense to all of it. The three actors all do fine work with their roles but it's doubtful people are coming to this for performances. I'm sure some might find some sort of message but to me THE IMAGE was simply a well-made porn film and there's nothing wrong with that.

So the question is, was Anne punished? Oh yeah. You can bet your ass Anne was punished in this movie. Young Anne is a bad little girl and you've got Sleazy Jean and Bossy Clair to tell her what's what. The Punishment of Anne aka The Image is a moderately sleazy film, but done in a sexy way. Usually when I think "sleazy" it reminds me of gritty, exploit flicks with a rape or two. But not here, TPoA has it's share of sleazy scenes, but overall like I said, it exudes more sexiness.

Not being a big fan of porn I really can't fill you in on any historical importance of this movie. I can't tell you if the main actors are famous porn & S/M stars. I can't even tell you if this is one of the better old school porns out there. Nevertheless I can tell you that this movie has a good amount going for it. For one, for me, this movie had me laughing. Quite a lot. For starters, to open the movie, you see Jean at a party making his rounds. But the funny thing about this scene is he'll just go up to one person at a time, say "Hello" and then a moment later say "Excuse me." "Hello.....Excuse me." Such silly behavior. One scene in particular where Anne is getting punished the first time by both Jean and Clair, Jean begins telling Clair to whip Anne in a rushed manner, and then a moment later he's laughing his head off in a insane manner. And I was laughing right along with him. To top that scene off, Jean looks down at Anne and says "You're about to reap the fruits of your labor." Now that line is pure gold. And like this comical yet sexy scene, the whole movie is filled with "too smart for it's own good" type of lines. There's are numerous scenes where you'll probably be shaking your head with a smile and this is where the movie shines brightest. But the movie does slow down towards the end with "harder" S/M scenes and this is where I got bored. If you're a big fan of porn or S/M you'll probably like this, but for me, they should have stuck to the "weird situation punishment".

Overall, I enjoyed The Punishment of Anne. Anne was played by a beautiful girl and Jean's dubbing, lines and expressions made me laugh at a good rate. The movie sometimes slows a bit between scenes, but if you have a funny bone for silly dialogue, you'll enjoy these scenes because Jean fills them with cheesy narration. So all in all, it was funny, sexy and pretty entertaining. The Punishment of Anne is a recommendable porno in my book.

There's no point in serious argument about whether or not The Image is pornography, because it clearly is. Though it may not be considered hardcore pornography in the sense that there's no penetration shown on-screen, the sexual content is more explicit and shocking than any porn you've ever seen, to the point of going beyond arousing and into repulsive.

But The Image is also unmistakably art, and it's one of the few films that managed to merge the two successfully, much more so than the soft erotic dramas which were a dime a dozen in the 70's and 80's. Rather than just romanticizing sex, The Image is a disturbing and intelligent film about domination and sexual psychology, and in between the sex scenes you'll find surprising amounts of character development and a tight script (excluding the god-awful narration, which I could really do without); add to that excellent acting from the three leads - especially Rebecca Brooke, who truly sells her performance with her shockingly convincing face and body language (not to mention how gorgeous and sensual she is), and gorgeous cinematography which juxtaposes the brutal violence of the acts with the pastoral and serene French backdrops, to a truly eerie and enticing result.

It goes without saying that The Image isn't for everyone. It succeeds as pornography - being enticing and arousing even for those with barely even a fleeting whimsical interest in S&M - but it's also very disturbing and difficult to watch. But if you can stomach it, it's definitely recommended.

THE IMAGE is a disturbing, erotic, scary, elegant movie that probably only Radley Metzger could have made. Most directors of 'erotica' concentrate on gynecological close-ups to the exclusion of all else; Metzger's hallmark has always been to tell the story and explain the characters by relying as much on the actors' eyes as on the dialogue. The S&M scene is as alien to me as peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches (which I am also told some enjoy), but in THE IMAGE I can see the gamesmanship, the role-playing and the unspoken psychological leveraging that makes it all so compellingly complex. Would I show this film to Grandma? Uh-uh. But then, that's just MY grandma, who knows, yours may have a side you never suspected. This film is hot, fascinating, and, in this gorgeous and UNCUT (thank you, thank you!) video transfer, stunningly beautiful as well.