Wet Dreams (Sogni bagnati)

The late 60's early 70's were the golden age of amongst other things free love. Jim Haynes who is credited with the idea for this film is an American who had organised two festivals of erotic cinema in Amsterdam in 1971 and 72 called the "Wet Dream" festival . Having moved there from London where he had been involved in what was called "the underground". He is quoted as saying "we are not concerned with pornographic aspects primarily, but with the libertarian concept. It is an attack on paternalism because it asks why people can't see any image they want." The film was intended as an expression of that ideology and is probably of more interest to students of underground, experimental, avant garde, and independent cinema history than those seeking a "party movie". This was originally titled "Dreams of Thirteen" and was intended to have contributions from 13 film artists the linking theme being sex. Portmanteau features made up of thematically linked short films were quite fashionable in Europe at that time, titles like "Paris vu par" and "RoGoPag" which showcased the talents of the new wave spring to mind. However not all of the shorts intended for this were completed and from what I can gather a couple that were finished were not included in any released version, hence the re-title to "Wet Dreams" which relates it to the festivals that spawned it. This film is obscure and hard to find. I managed to catch it in an actual cinema in London's West End when it had a limited run in Britain. It was released as a sex film by a low rent exploitation distributor in the late Seventies not long before video brought an end to the strand of cinema beloved of the "raincoat brigade" and has not been distributed since. Copies on the collectors circuit in the UK come from the VHS release of that time. While being a mixed bag all of the segments are at worst interesting and none overstay their welcome. There is some nudity but no hardcore (at least in the version I saw) despite a contribution from porn legend Lasse Braun. I was mainly drawn to this title by the reputation of contributor Nick Ray, Director of "Rebel Without a Cause" and many other classics. His segment "The Janitor" is the last and most obscure offering, quite rewarding for a completist like myself but possibly a puzzler for others.

I had been wanting to see Wet Dreams for many years because of the infamous episode featuring the great director Nicholas Ray toward the end of his life and career. I finally found a copy courtesy of Video Screams that was in French without subtitles. Although I did not understand French, most of the episodes, the "Dreams," in Wet Dreams had minimal or no dialog.

Unfortunately, "The Janitor" did have quite a bit of narration. I caught the main idea of the episode but undoubtedly missed much of it. Some critics were harsh on Ray for making this short, but I was intrigued. Nicholas Ray played a broken down janitor cleaning up a studio where once he had held court, a guru to horny, young hippies (seen in flashback). The nudity in this short was minimal. True, the images of the young females taking communion from Ray by performing oral sex on him (only simulated) could be argued to show the auteur as nothing but a dirty old man. Nonetheless, I found "The Janitor" to be a moving look at a once great director (the flashbacks) now old and alone (the janitor). I just wish I could have understood the narration and dialog.

If "The Janitor" was the most fascinating episode in Wet Dreams, it was not the only one of interest. As "Falcon Stewart," hardcore pornographer Lasse Braun provided the film's funniest episode, "The Happy Necrophilliacs." Lee Kraft paid a dirty homage to Chaplin's Tramp character in the fun silent "The Plumber." Kraft also made "The Banner," in which nude body painting was taken to an art form. Surrealist painter Hans Kanters took the viewer on a tour of his penis landscape paintings, like a wedding between Hieronymus Bosch and Bob Guccione, in "The Private World of Hans Kanters." Finally, I was not sure what to make of Dusan Makavejev's "Politifuck," which featured a catchy song about Chairman Mao and revolutionary would-be lovers growling at each other.

There were some duds of course, but all of the episodes were short. This was an easy film to watch. Wet Dreams was made back in the days when sexually explicit material (here *mostly* softcore in nature) was viewed as a breakthrough in free expression and maybe even art. Pretentious? Sure, but no more so than Showgirls, The Dreamers, or Romance - and a hell of a lot more fun than any of them.