Monamour

I suppose I understand the young couple who apparently picked up DVD of this film because it was described as an 'erotic thriller'. Something lost in translation there , I think. And for those who take exception to the non PC and violent elements, I guess if this is your first Tinto Brass movie you could be forgiven for being taken aback that this is not all silky hand upon silky thigh to the drone of some appalling musak. But, come on everybody else, this is Mr Brass, this is Italian, so we get gutsy action, bottoms up, bottoms open and even bottoms on the toilet. True, we are given to understand that the leading lady is fantasizing/desiring all of this whereas it is of course, Mr Brass who is in charge of the fantasies portrayed, but then this is only a movie. Anna Jimskaia comes from Tashkent, Uzbekistan and has been a circus performer and gymnast, so no wonder she can bend that bottom high and so beautifully. Max Parodi is a little over the top as her failing husband but Riccardo Marino is suitably moody as her 'French' lover. This may be a bit vigorous for some, lifelike prosthetic penises make you wonder, why not the real thing but whilst perhaps not the ideal first date movie, I reckon you get what's on the can

I watched a poorly dubbed version of what could be described as a soft porn type movie, and honestly, I kind of enjoyed it. The bad dubbing made the dialogue so awkward and nonsensical that it became unintentionally hilarious. The voice acting was completely off, and the lines often didn't make any sense in the context of the scenes, which only added to the fun. It felt like a comedy at times, as the mismatched voices and strange dialogue choices created some laugh-out-loud moments. While the plot itself wasn't anything special, the bad dub definitely gave it an amusing twist, turning what could've been a forgettable film into something more entertaining.

Delivering on the strengths of beloved director Tinto Brass in seemingly his final feature film of his career. After watching his prior 1992's film, both films are somewhat similar in styles, tones and overall erotica of explicitness. However that film's leading woman was a lot more likeable as opposed to the lead in this film "Monamour" who simply comes across as manipulating her ways throughout with teases of each men for her desire. As with his style, there are constant random close up shots to woman's bottoms and privates', and brief explicit scenes. The plot flows as an art house soft core with minimal dialogue.

If you've never seen a Tinto Brass movie, this is not a good place to start. Tinto is at his best when he's not taking himself seriously, and in Monamour he attempts some sort of depth that he just can't pull off. What's worse, the plot feels like a recycled version of one of his better films - 1992's Cosi fan Tutte - but with all the wrong choices made; Cosi fan Tutte was light-hearted and featured a strong female lead in Claudia Koll, who was in charge of her own fate the whole time; the lead in Monamour is a despicable and unlikable character who succumbs to the will of men around her. While the two characters end up having similar journeys, the viewer just can't forgive Monamour's Marta as he did Diana from Cosi fon tutte. And the fact that the movie takes itself so seriously makes the erotica disturbing and off-putting, unlike the playfulness in Cosi fon Tutte.

Monamour has good cinematography and some well-shot sex scenes which are both a given with Tinto, but the sex is more disturbing than it is enticing. While Cosi fon Tutte was almost feminist (sort of) and is lots of fun for a couple to watch together, Monamour feels more like a horny old man's fantasy, and it just doesn't work.

Watching people behave with sex only on their minds without any care for social norms at all. You will find no class or style in this movie. Another tit and bum factory piece of work. The musical scores were as bland and the many empty sets and settings. It is in fact an old mans wet dream acted out by middle aged actors that lacked any passion at all, which is what the movie tries to sell and does so very poorly. It's just smut.