A Prisão

Do you enjoy violent, sleazy, sexy "Women In Prison" films? If so, then this one shouldn't disappoint, but it's not something just anybody can sit through. There's a lot of t&a and all sorts of depravity on display here, straight out of Brazil. Lesbian prison guards make out with the lady prisoners, perform cavity searches in their most private of areas, etc...

It's not very well directed (though fans may ask "so what?") and it doesn't always make a hell of a lot of sense. But there are a couple of disturbing sequences to be on the lookout for in scenes where a few female inmates escape and run wild in the streets - one of these involves castrating a man, and even a sicker display has the girls raping a pre-teenaged boy in his home as he moans "why? why?" (he may well find out in a few more years). ** out of ****

This a Brazilian WIP film which means several things. First off, it's going to be more graphic than usual (actually crossing into hardcore in several places) if perhaps not quite as sick as some of the 1970's Jess Franco WIP films that were nominally set in South America. Second, while it does contain some reasonably attractive actresses, a lot of the others could be considered female "rough trade" (including a few that looked like they could been REAL prisoners). Third, it was obviously filmed in an actual Brazilian prison and, after the breakout, in actual Brazilian ghettos which gives it a squalid and depressing air (a ridiculous scene where all the prisoner take a VERY exuberant shower is actually kind of understandable--given the squalid conditions of the "set" the actresses probably really were that excited to get into a shower).

The main point of this movie is SEX--sex and more sex. Sex between the inmates, between the inmates and the warden or the prison nurse, solo sex scenes with the prisoners who are thrown into solitary confinement (buck naked, of course)--it's all here, one scene after another. And if you get tired of lesbian sex, after the traditional bust-out there's even more straight sex (you would think these woman would want to take a break from having sex, but no) with the kind of guys that make Ron Jeremy look trim and hairless. There's also a little unpleasantness like with one inmate in solitary who has befriended a dead rat (she doesn't have sex with at least), and another woman who suddenly makes like Lorena Bobbit after performing graphic oral sex on a very ugly guy.

What this movie really DOESN'T have though is a plot. Or real characters--I couldn't figure out WHO the protagonists are supposed to be. Like a hardcore porn film it is just a series of sex scenes thrown together with little or no connective tissue, and (speaking of tissue) while some of the women are attractive enough that I could certainly see some male viewers at home being motivated to "fire one off", I don't why even they would want to watch the rest of the movie. You really CAN have too much of a good thing sometimes, and this is a good example.

Well I've got to say that I do enjoy a good slice of sleaze; but I also like there to be some sort of narrative to keep my interest, and this film lacks that; which leaves it feeling rather shallow and pointless. As the title suggests, Bare Behind Bars is another one of those 'women in prison' films, and the fact that it hails from Brazil means that you can certainly count on gratuitous sex and nudity, which this film features in droves. There's all sorts of stuff going on, from lesbian sex to the use of dildo's and other implements, and everyone in the prison gets involved; from the prisoners to the guards and everyone in-between. The only slight hint of plot revolves around a prison break, which happens towards the end. There's a fair amount of violence to go with the sex and general sleaze, which includes certain male body parts being removed and, on one occasion, being fed to the family dog! However, while this film has everything you could want in terms of sleaze; the lack of any plot at all really does harm it. Obviously this is not a genre that is well known for great stories, but this film is shallow even by genre standards; and while I'm not an expert on sleazy women in prison flicks - Jess Franco has certainly done better.

This has been called the "Mother of all WIP" flicks. In a sense I can see why. It has all the essential ingredients of the genre- in abundance if not excess.

Wall to wall nudity (indeed being nude is the default dress code), shower scenes, some (tame) torture, lesbianism (indeed no men really), and a so-called moral ending.

Trouble is that it is so atrociously compiled by De Oliveira, the director, that all sense of the erotic is lost. Jess Franco so much does it better. The scenes flit from one to the next with little or no continuity of plot, sexual encounters are chucked in for no good reason, plot lines start and then run into the sand.....Well- whatever.. And the women are not that cute either.

So sadly this flick flatters to deceive. You will probably watch it given its reputation- and emerge mildly disappointed like the rest of us. Brazil creates better football than WIP thrills..

This is a South American women-in-prison (WIP) flick without the narrative drive or camp value of American WIP films (BIG DOLL HOUSE, CHAINED HEAT) of the fever-dream delirium of European WIP films (BARBED WIRE DOLLS, HELLHOLE WOMEN). All the exploitable elements are in place but the excitement is missing as this film is top-heavy (pun intended) with girl/girl sex scenes. The actress who plays the warden looks just like Lisa Kudrow.