Al di là del desiderio

I truly enjoyed this movie. I rented it to watch alone, my wife out of town for the weekend, and I am definitely going to get her to watch it with me when she comes home. There were a few scenes that strained my ability to believe, such as when the main character would attempt to advise strangers, but they ended up really just providing humorous relief. I can't really imagine the modern practice of Balthazar's profession as presented in this movie, but everything else was intuitively spot-on. The movie is erotic, but even more importantly, it is a richly layered love story, one that I personally, really became invested in emotionally. There aren't too many movies that focus on the relationship within marriage, and give powerful hope for the unimaginable possibilities within it. Bliss definitely does this. It's very real, and I thought the acting was excellent. Perhaps I'm easily moved, but I found myself sitting close to the screen, fully emotionally locked into the script. My grade? A-

Movies made about problems in sex in marriage usually draws expressions of horror, or we don't want to know about it. Bliss explores one area, and there are many, of one cause and it is not uncommon, and a remedy other than traditional medicine to fix that problem.

Critics have called Bliss educational to laughable and even soft porn. Foxtel Australia (released on cable May 1999) say the truth lies in- between. Foxtel saw fit to censor several scenes of the cable version, which in my opinion completely destroyed the Director's main plot and visual effects to tell the real story of something quite different in the use of another therapy, Tantric therapy. I obtained my own uncensored copy so my comments are based on visual scenes and dialogue on the therapy used, very limited but the basics are there.

The film was dedicated to Pauline; Maria's characterisation could have been Pauline. There are many Pauline's in this world that have had help or still need it.

The dialogue exchanged between Joseph (Craig Sheffer) and Tanner (Casey Siemaszka) on the wedding day when Joseph said, Maria (Sheryl Lee)"she has some problems". She sleeps with a fly swatter [little bugger], cleans the house twice a day, locked bathroom door, suicidal, neurotic, compulsive. Oh! how I know about bathroom doors and neurosis.

Maria's nonchalance of her wedding day to her Mother is obvious when she shrugs her shoulders and regurgitates. This is when the plot starts to unfold Maria's mannerisms and idiosyncrasies (getting her Father to check if there is a snap undone), the nervousness and stomach upset.

Through the gateway from this borderline psychotic state (we learned this later on) that Maria has, sometimes ends in Depression, and Baltazar Vincenza (Terence Stamp) stops Maria going there with the use of the ancient art of Tantric lovemaking, so it seems. It didn't take much to work out that if Maria had more therapy from the staid and clinical Alfred (Spalding Gray) she may have ended up on the wrong side of that borderline.

There are some lighthearted scenes and dialogue because this movie, Bliss, is about real people, real problems and real things. The scene on the building site is especially real where Carlos and Nick advise that Baltazar Vincenzahas have 4-6 women on the hour and every hour per day and teases all of them. The uniniated into tantalic doctrine would find this perhaps laughable.

The scene in the hospital where Maria is pouring out the reasons she is there is a gem. This explanation of Marias' problems comes late into the film, but that's the way it seems the Director wanted it, and it captures my imagination to find the reasons later.

The on screen chemistry and interactions of Sheryl Lee as Maria, and Mark Scheffer as Joseph capture the moments magically.

The special artistry of capturing what matters by Australian Cinematographer Mike Malloy (A Clockwork Orange) is again done with due care and in good taste in some of the explicit scenes, where it is important to explain visually the method of this chosen therapy.

Terence Smart invigorates the movie as Baltazar Vincenza, confidently played with clear diction, precise timing (cup of tea) (like to dance) (I promise) reminiscent of the transvestite Bernadette in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, realising a different role once again.

Alfred, well played by Spalding Gray as the run of the mill, we will get it fixed by conventional therapy eventually. Until Joseph asks about Baltazar Vincenza, and then the sparks fly and the film enters a new panorama of drama, explanation and entry into a New World of therapy.

This movie has a tight script, well directed, excellent acting, and a very different way of surrounding the plot with something different to fix a common problem in marriage. It is a scene that few wish to be in, Vincenza (to Joseph), why do you put so much into it when you get so little back? Indeed, I know what he means.

Lance Young worked with production executives of Warner Bros. And Paramount and no doubt saw some fabricated screen plots, so he took to writing his own screenplay about real things and people. He no doubt found this hard and personal, but the end result in Bliss was worth the effort.

The film, in my opinion is educational to someone who knows the problems of Maria and the adoration a husband like Joseph places on his partner and marriage. The more it is viewed, the better and educational it gets, rather than having to read and view many volumes of text and videos on the subject of Tantric lovemaking, a subject that has it's poo-hoo critics.

I will be waiting eagerly for Lance Young's sequel to this excellent movie, if any.

I ended up hiring this movie because it stars the very beautiful Sheryl Lee, but I liked it when it was over.

Everyone in this film gives a great performance, particularly Stamp and Lee. Sheffer is adequade and Spalding Gray is boring as he always is.

I found it hard to feel unmoved by the scene in which Maria (Lee) explains to her husband why she has problems. It is very sad that someone has to go through all that pain and suffering.

I see this film as more that "a quest for an orgasm", as my friend put it, but a well acted drama that is also very entertaining and somewhat educational.

As for the sex scenes, they are very well handled and they are not dirty. There isn't much nudity (the video cover is very misleading) and people in it talk more about sex than they do it.

Great film, it should be more well known and recognized. Everyone, tell your friends to watch Bliss. It makes you think about how your partner really feels in bed....

This movie was a surprise from the beginning. I thought it was going to end up like a teenage sex film but was more than pleased with the film as a whole. It dealt with sexuality in a way that I have not seen in American movies. It was beautifully done, wonderfully acted by all the players and the images and content stayed with me for weeks afterwards. It is not for the prudish but if you are in the mood for a powerful film about human sexuality, marriage, and how the dance between the partners can and should be, this is a movie for you. Watch it with someone that you care deeply about.

BLISS is a powerful, courageous film about sexual healing and the courage and love necessary to make oneself whole. It also has a lot to say about how we refer to men and women in modern American culture, and from that, how easy or unaware surface descriptions can be.

Bravo to the cast and crew! A perfect 10!

Every man and woman in America should see this film!