Despite the obviously low budget, "Portrait of the Soul" could just be a future cult classic thanks mainly to the imagery of the film's writer / director, David Goldner. This story is said to be based on the classic Oscar Wilde tale, "The Picture of Dorian Gray", the story of a painter who's portrait reflects his age and growing life style of decadence. In this erotic take off, a photographer is capturing the souls of his subjects in his photographs, which then releases them from their inhibitions, there for justifying the producer's requirement of multiple sex scenes in the film. The film is filled with great photographic images, apparently created by Goldner himself, and definatly add to the atmosphere and production value of this film. Don't get me wrong, this is still a "B" movie, but there is something about the direction and dialogue (some of which is directly taken from Oscar Wilde's original story) that set this film apart from others that have been produced by Alain Siritzky, best know for his somewhat mundane series of "Emmanuelle" productions. I actually like this film enough to buy it on DVD, and would recommend to anyone who likes this genre to take a look-see.
--Zone Warrior
