Eugénie

There must have been some creative photography work or it took four years to edit and perhaps add more footage but Soledad died in a car crash Aug 18 1970. How Franco directed her beyond the grave must be one of the arcane skills of this director. Maybe bringing back Monroe, Orson Wells, and some others to act would be a worthwhile event.. but seriously, someone should find out how or why this took so long to make.. Perhaps her accident wasn't. Just part of the trivia this director has created.. I mean really just how many Eugenie did me make - four?? I like Lindberg's the most... and yet I still have to write... to make another line

Jess Franco has almost 200 directorial credits to his name, so with that in mind; it's not surprising that the vast majority of them are rubbish. Jess Franco certainly does know how to make a bad movie, but clearly he knows his way around a good one too, and while they're in a minority in the man's vast filmography; there are some very good Jess Franco films, and Eugenie de Sade is one of the very best of them! This is one of seven films that Franco directed in 1970 (the second titled 'Eugenie', no less) and it's a film that could almost be considered a shame; because it proves that Franco can be great if he put his mind to it, and I'd rather have ten films like than a hundred cheap and rushed sex flicks. Anyway, the main focus of the plot is the title character; Eugenie is a young girl who falls in love with her stepfather Albert; a writer of erotic fiction, after reading one of his books. It's not long before he notices and despite the incestuous implications of their relationship, he entices Eugenie to join him in his sick sex games that stretch into murder.

I have to admit that the main reason I was so keen to see this film was due to the fact that it stars the amazing Soledad Miranda. This actress made a number of films with Jess Franco (including two of his best, Vampiros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy) and it's a real shame that she died prematurely as she was a good actress and a pleasure to watch on screen. I have not seen many of her movies unfortunately, but from the ones I have seen - she is at her best in this one. She fits in brilliantly with the sordid tone of the film and creates just the right balance between innocence and sadism. The style of the movie is very European and Franco obviously valued how important it was to ensure that the film is erotic. There are several standout scenes; the best of which sees Soledad Miranda and Paul Muller entertain an Austrian hitchhiker that they picked up in the middle of nowhere. The film is apparently based on the writings of the Marquis de Sade; not having read any of his material, I can't say how faithful it is but there is plenty of sadism in this movie. The plot is strong for the duration and Franco manages a satisfying ending too. Overall, this is among the cream of Franco's crop and comes highly recommended to all Eurocult fans!

If Franco did a single great thing in his tortuous career, that was discovering Soledad Miranda.

Forget what the plot is supposedly about. If you don't have the DVD, there's an accompanying interview with Franco on making the film. His discussion of De Sade and how that informs his work is as boring as De Sade's own writings, but look how he lights up when he starts talking about Soledad. As an old man, you can tell he is still touched by having known her. It is the same mystique that enthralled Von Sternberg to Dietrich.

Born, according to Franco at least, to gypsy parents, she was a successful flamenco dancer and singer before making the transition to film. I've only seen her in this and Vampyros, she's great in both but in the extraordinary way of dancers. It isn't about acting, she wasn't much good in the sense Streep is good. It's having a presence, enchanting, teasing by simple breath.

As Franco talks of her, that segment is peppered with images of her from the film, the rest of the film was beginning to blur but every single one of those I could instantly remember—crouched before a fireplace holding her knees, grazing a thigh, splayed on a bed, pensive with sunglasses in the car, gypsy tinkle in the eye before murder, playful dancing out of her skimpy skirt, I will probably revisit the film years later and be able to recall every pose. And isn't this what the film is about?

It's Franco photographing Soledad.

There's a surrogate father here who, in essence, takes Soledad on the journey to staged erotic images. Franco is actually in the film as the 'writer' looking for a fascinating character.

It's probably his most pure, because it is most purely about his desire to photograph beauty (and murder). The film begins with a softcore scene that leads to strangulation, 'looked on' by Franco as the director. Framed as Soledad's confessional to Franco, the whole film is gauzy, erotic reminisces on a deathbed. So how poignant when you know that she was already dead when the film was released? That, framed as memory, this is the last we'll see of her?

And the images? The violence is tame by contemporary standards, which is for the better, fewer distraction. Being so blatantly stagy, it even adds to the effect. And whereas the male-driven story of violence is typically sloppy, the images, Soledad's images as she remembers, attain a unique quality. Soft around the edges, selfless by contrast to Sade's juvenile philosophy of selfishness.

Seeing select footage of this at some film festival, you'd call it experimental. Sometimes the camera roams over mundane details, sometimes it floats in air, sometimes it blurs and finds again, faces, textures of weather. It's as if someone is trying to remember, distorting, fixating, carried along by intruding thoughts—a sort of inverse visual Lolita.

It isn't self-consciously so, which again is for the better. A filmmaker with a semiconscious talent for images, films a woman (not outright sexy) semiconscious of her allure. It's great if you can drift in that space between them.

The first Jesus Franco movie that I saw was Vampyros Lesbos. I liked it very much... it was different, strange and almost hypnotic. I must admit that I liked his style, but the main reason that I continued watching his movies was that in several of his movies he casted Soledad Miranda; a gorgeous Spanish actress that lived in the 70's and that played lead roles in some of his movies. Her screen presence was so powerful, mysterious and unlike any other Hollywood actress today.

Anyways, Eugenie is a story of sex, crime, love and devotion. Miranda plays Eugenie, a quiet young girl that lives with her stepfather in Europe. The stepfather is a famous writer with a secret and perverse dark personality. As the movie develops, Eugenie gets involved with her stepfather in his second personality becoming devoted to his malevolent desires.

The score of the movie blends perfectly with the atmosphere and the characters. The camera work in some scenes is unique and experimental. The movie might seem absurd to many viewers because not everyone is ready for a movie of this class. Overall the movie is good in the style of Jess Franco. Anyone wanting to experience a Franco movie should definitely start with Vampyros Lesbos, as it stands unquestionably as his masterpieces.

First things first - 'Eugenie De Sade' isn't to be confused with Jess Franco's other De Sade adaptation 'Eugenie', which to make matters worse also featured Paul Muller, one of his regular actors. That Eugenie starred the gorgeous Marie Liljedahl, this Eugenie stars the gorgeous Soledad Miranda (Franco sure had some stunning leading ladies!). Miranda, who died tragically in the same year as this movie was released, is best remembered for her role in 'Vampyros Lesbos', arguably Franco's best film. Miranda plays Eugenie, the devoted daughter of Albert Radeck de Franval (Muller), a writer and researcher specializing in erotica. One day she reads a "forbidden" book from her stepfather's collection, and this irrevocably alters their relationship. She becomes his love slave and obeys his every command. He makes her his accomplice in a series of murders, and for a time, both are ecstatic. But when Eugenie begins to fall in love with her latest victim, Paul, a flaky jazz rock musician (Andres Monales, also from 'Vampyros Lesbos'), the wrath of de Franval is sure to be swift and savage. Having nosy writer Tanner (played by Franco himself) hot on their trail doesn't help matters any either. This is one of Franco's better efforts and as good a place as any to jump into his world. Franco's movies are generally stylish, erotic and dreamlike, and that certainly describes this one. The two leads are perfectly cast. Muller plays the jaded sophisticate very well, and Miranda is just beautiful. Anybody who has ever enjoyed a Franco movie should try and see this one. You won't be disappointed!