A Chantagem

"Change pas de main" (1975), or "Don't Change Hands", is an experimental and explicit cinematic journey helmed by the enigmatic Paul Vecchiali. This film is a rare breed-a mainstream-meets-adult fusion that dares to challenge conventions.

Vecchiali, marching to his own beat, delivers a unique blend of genres and styles. The film opens with a trench-coated, hard-boiled detective, Myriam Mezieres, setting the tone for a cast dominated by strong, tough women. The story integrates hardcore sex content seamlessly into its narrative framework, a bold choice that sets it apart.

The film's dialog is sharp and biting, delivered by a talented cast. Situations are delightfully unpredictable, offering a refreshing experience for jaded film enthusiasts. However, the arthouse crowd may find it indulgent and inaccessible. This is Vecchiali's brand of cinema-unapologetic, unfiltered, and unconcerned with mass appeal.

"Change pas de main" plays with words in its title, offering a double entendre with "Change pas demain" (translating to "don't change tomorrow"), reflecting the film's playful yet serious tone. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, it's a testament to Vecchiali's bold vision and style.

The film's production, involving a famous pornographer, ensures the sex scenes are artfully executed. This is not mere erotica; it's a fusion of adult content with a compelling narrative, strong characters, and a unique aesthetic. It's a film that pushes boundaries, blurring the lines between arthouse and adult cinema, and demanding your attention.

"Change pas de main" is a bold, uninhibited ride-a film that sticks with you, for better or worse. It's a testament to Vecchiali's willingness to explore, challenge, and excite, leaving a lasting impression long after the credits roll. This is adult cinema with a difference-an acquired taste, much like the filmmaker himself.

Paul Vecchiali's work is an acquired taste, as he is a filmmaker who marches to the beat of his own drum, never fashionable or popular. Produced by a famous pornographer of the day (Jean-Francois Davy of "Exhibition" fame) it's a rare mainstream (sort of) movie that carefully integrates explicit hardcore sex content into a strong story.

Like other of his films, notably "Femme Femme", Vecchiali seems most influenced from the Nouvelle Vague by Jacques Rivette, with his strong heroines and challenging mix of camp with seriousness. Here we have Myriam Mezieres, an uninhibited performer who takes Paul's challenge to do strong soft-core sex scenes to heart, as a trench-coated hard-boiled detective, with most of the many prominent roles going to similarly tough women. Her case is to investigate what's going on with Helene Surgere's adult son, who we see at the opening of the film starring in a hardcore black & white stag movie that leaves nothing to the imagination.

With plenty of shoot-outs and mock-violence, Vecchiali creates a strange, campy world for her to move in, revolving around a nightclub where drag queens perform on stage alongside cis-females, wigs are on everybody, and cast members sometimes burst into song or dance without provocation. There are several orgies integrated into the convoluted plot, both staged both soft-core and hardcore, and ultimately when the story is resolved and a scandal blasted across the front page of the newspapers, we see Myriam walking away with the imagery of a serious film as conclusion.

Along the way the camp approach comes on so strong that this movie has "cult classic" written all over it, even if that did not come to pass. The direct-sound dialog has bite, the acting top-notch and the unpredictability of situations delightful for the jaded movie buff. However, a more general "art house" target audience is likely to have found it all too precious and indigestible.

Vecchiali's one movie that broke through onto the U.S. art house circuit was "Drugstore Romance" in 1983, featuring several of the "Change pas" leading ladies, and evidence of his career obscurity is the lack of a single review of that movie in IMDb.

For the opening title, "Change pas de main" is converted back and forth to "Change pas demain" (tomorrow), giving it a double meaning.

No, this flick didn't impress me. Its hard to say what producer goal was--supposedly blackmail involved--okay, why do I care. Its kinda remind me our ruling class--just blabbering about something they consider important and my opinion only counts when I hold my shovel. France and their movies remind me Russia--no matter how many revolutions they have things stays the same.