Super sexy vamp

1st watched 5/3/2002 - 3 out of 10(Dir-Leon Klimovsky): Weird story about a brain transplant performed on a woman's body with a man's brain. What ensues, of course, is chaos for the victim of the operation who becomes confused, obviously, about his/her identity and what he/she is supposed to do about it. What could have been an interesting exploration in the difference between men and women becomes more of an exploitative one-sided view of the heathen, filthy men and a display of a one-sided world that caters to men and treats women like trash. I can't say that some of this probably wasn't true especially in the early 70's, but when the movie turns into a typical thriller/type situation where the man/woman tries to get the best out of his/her life by ruining other people's it gets out of hand.

Although this wondrous website lists "horror", "Sci-fi", and "drama" as genres to classify "I Hate my Body", you rapidly realize the emphasis primarily lies on the drama, just a little bit on the science-fiction, and practically not at all on the horror. But hey, what else do you expect from a tale about an experimental brain transplant, in which a successful and macho male engineer wakes up in the body of an attractive young female after a tragic road accident. He/she is painfully confronted with the discrimination and sexist behavior he was also guilty of in his previous life, and he badly suffers to determine his sexual orientation.

It's hardly horror-material, obviously, but veteran-director Léon Klimovski nevertheless manages to insert a handful of exploitative and sleaze-laden sequences. The actual transplant, for instance, is performed by a questionable surgeon named Adolphe who apparently experimented with similar stuff during World War II. Dr Adolphe doesn't like to be reminded of the concentration camps, though. There's plenty of gratuitous sex and nudity, as well as the mandatory sadist rape-sequence. Alexandra Bastedo, known from "The Blood-Spattered Bride", is a talented actress and an immensely beautiful woman, but even she can't rescue the film from sheer tastelessness and boredom.

I have little doubt that one of the main reason's for tracking down this bizarre, brain-swapping shocker is the luminous presence of the exquisite Alexandra Bastedo in one of her most entertainingly outlandish performances, excluding her delicious turn in 'The Blood-Spattered Bride'. After a singularly swinging introduction of boozy, girl-swapping nightlife, the hazy evening ends somewhat abruptly with the boozy couple suffering a terrible motor accident and poor Leda Schmidt (Alexandra Bastedo) becoming the unwilling guinea pig of the surgeon Dr. Adolf (Narciso Ibañez Menta). He opportunistically transplants the still living brain of a libidinous male into the delectable skull of the unsuspecting Lena!!! She awakens deliriously to the sinister bedside manner of mad Dr. Adolf, who excitingly assures her that his prohibited operation was a triumph, yet Bastedo's angst-ridden visage in the mirror yells an entirely different story!

The fact that Klimovsky's head-scratching odd, brain-swappingly strange 'I Hate My Body' is such a bemusing entity is both its strength and weakness, a great idea, poorly realised. The Film itself is no less schizoid in nature than the increasingly disturbed male cerebellum inside Leda Schmidt's pretty head. Part undercooked agitprop, equal rites polemic, part mad scientist B-Movie that mirrors its dispossessed protagonist as being neither one thing nor the other. All that being said, 'I Hate My Body' is certainly not without prurient interest to avid 1970s euro-cult fans. The far from hate-able, beautifully put together body of Alexandra Bastedo whose lively performance and animated features gives the semblance of life to this bafflingly brainless obscurity. As, even the lissome Alexandra Bastedo's luminous star quality can't enlighten this rather tepid, misshapen B-Movie.

Ernest, an unvirtuous but successful engineering exec, is transported to a hospital following a fiery road accident. Though clinically dead, his brain remains functional, and an ill-advisable decision is made by the staff sugeon(implied to have previously performed experimental procedures under the aegis of the SS). Ernest will be reported deceased, and his brain will be transplanted into the head of an attractive young female named Leda, who has recently passed on. The operation is carried out successfully, but kept clandestine, and Ernest must learn to live in harmony with "his" new flesh. This proves a most difficult encumbrance, however, as "he" retains "his" male sexual urges, and simultaneously finds that the female experience in a male-dominated world is fraught with more difficulties and frustrations than he'd ever imagined...employment opportunities are limited, and rest with "her" willingness to "put out". "Leda" ultimately devises a plan to extort money from Ernest's widow, who has collected on her presumed dead husband's hefty life insurance policy.

Sleazy and thoroughly illogical, I HATE MY BODY reduces a very workable core concept to flyspeck with its sensationalistic, exploitative handling. Similar foundations had been explored somewhat more tactfully in CHANGE OF MIND(1969), with pertinency to race issues. While that film was admittedly mediocre, it at least showed some rectitude in addressing sensitive sociopolitical issues. I HATE MY BODY had as much opportunity, but squandered it on a fescennine procession of tawdry toings-and-froings, knavishly feigning a purposeful pro-feminist credo.

Not one of director Klimovsky's more shining efforts, but I'd be lying to say I didn't find it somewhat shamefully gratifying.

5/10.