Paixão e Êxtase

Apparently this did beat Avatar at the Chinese Box Office, so they can't have been that wrong now, can they? Of course "Sex and Zen" seems to be a popular movie series in general in Chinese movie history. Though I haven't seen any other of those movies (this actually played at the Fantasy Filmfest), I can't tell you if it's true that they took the "best bits" from previous movies and put them together here. What I can tell you though, is that this should be taken for what it is: a strange little erotic comedy.

If you can wrap your head around that, there are quite a few OTT moments to "enjoy" here. Until the end of the movie, they never cease to come up with something even more ridiculous than what they've shown you before. Again just don't take it seriously and have a hoot (whole cinema was laughing) and don't mind the "message" at the end of the movie (though it is kind of a nice touch ... no pun intended).

Yes our first 3D sex film, and we are sold a bit short, as it cuts back on you know, sex, nudity, but with some added sick violence. It's not really how this especial one should of been intended, but I disregard the violence in this remark. If you haven't seen this in 3D, being the experts, you'll spot the moments. You would get more out of it, seeing this in 3D. I was outnumbered in the Palace Ezi Max Cinema, a vast one. April 19th, 2011. I couldn't believe it. I was thinking 'If only I had my non Asian friend with me". I'm the only Aussie in this packed cinema of Asian folk. Some brought in some wine, to mark this auspicious occasion. There have been three other Sex and Zen films prior, all coming out consecutively in the mid nineties on. So this one is refreshing, but it had me so thinking this stories similar to the others, but really this sex flick, takes away from the story, when you have luscious stark lovelies engrossed in intercourse or sex acts where some bouncing boobs are coming at you. There are some memorable scenes: not so, that gigantic squashed c..k that really looks like a c..k, (a scary thing) the couple of scenes and dialogue following this, hilarious, the funniest in this flick. There are our lead couple I think, having intercourse on a giant curved, stone statue'd c..k (yeah really) and maggots foot disease, some great towering shots of a fortress, and 45 degrees slicing and dicing (great in 3D). The last scene, the most potent, beautiful too, thus bring disappointment as the end credits start to roll. These out there films, and I'm not just talking the Sex And Zen series, too me are just films to get off, where we do neglect the story that goes into it. With these Sex An Zen films, we really have to pay attention to the story as we get lost or deviate from, as these colorful, stark and nubile beauties are in our faces, visually pleasuring us with their goodies. That she male kind of put a damper on it too. At the end of the night it the sameo, some visuals staying in your mind, without giving a second thought to the story. But is the movie good? No.

3D SEX AND ZEN: EXTREME ECSTASY. It's difficult to know what to make of a film with a title like that. It's just so, well, in your face...as are the 3D effects in this film. 3D is showcased throughout, and it comes in the form of some very, very poor CGI. CGI penises, CGI gore effects, they're all presence and correct here and all very silly and fake-looking, but I guess that's part of the charm.

The meandering storyline involves a spoilt young man who marries a beautiful woman but fails to satisfy her in the bedroom. Frustrated, he falls in with an evil brothel keeper who arranges for him to have a penis transplant. Madness ensues, in a plot incorporating transgender villains, rape, sexual torture, and a military coup. None of it makes much sense, and the acting is very poor indeed, apart from the chief villain who looks like he stepped in from an old Five Venoms movie.

What 3D SEX AND ZEN does offer is an endless array of sex scenes, almost all of them involving topless nudity. The actresses are certainly game for a laugh, but it's difficult to identify just what sort of film the producers were trying to make. As a comedy it works in places but the proliferation of rape stuff in the second half makes it hard to stomach, and as a serious drama the character motivations are laughable. It's an oddity all right.

Despite the charming cast, 3D Sex & Zen: Extreme Ecstasy is a disappointment which does not live up to its hype.

As an erotic movie, it is not as satisfying as a hard-core pornographic movie. As a drama, it has paper-thin and inconsistent characters. That the main character and his wife suddenly miss each other is totally without substance. As a result, it fails to touch some members of the audience and the delivery of the message becomes very weak.

On the whole, it is a cult movie mixing pornography, foul language, jokes, romance, gore and action. However, it falls between two stools. You are advised not to take the plot seriously and expect any hard-core images, or you may be disappointed. A similar Korean movie, A Frozen Flower, is highly recommended.

A 3D sex movie, especially one produced in Hong Kong and especially one with a pedigree such as the Sex and Zen movies from the 1990s, should be a lot of fairly harmless fun. There should be plenty of double entendres (and single entendres!), plenty of bosoms heaving out across the audience, and a plot that is as uncomplicated as the sexual positions are complicated.

For the most part, '3D Sex & Zen: Extreme Ecstasy' is that film. Extremely handsome boy meets extremely beautiful girl. They make a lot of love, but something's not right. So, the handsome boy goes off to consult various masters in hopes of improving things. That's the first half of the film. Rather unfortunately, the second half turns to violence, sadism, rape and torture, and where five minutes ago one was chuckling about the protagonist declaring "I must make love to ten women at the same time", suddenly one is faced with genital mutilation, followed by rape, then more genital mutilation, followed by... Well, you get the idea with that one.

I suppose a film has to go in a direction, and a sex film especially, once the thrill of seeing the actors and actresses naked has waned somewhat. It can become increasingly absurd and nihilistic, like many Russ Meyer films; change tack and take in another exploitation genre (such as, ummm, 'Zombie Strippers'?); or go for a message, which more often than not is 'actually, this much sex isn't that good for you' (take 'Austin Powers', if you will). 3D Sex & Zen goes somewhere between all three, and despite being about 20 minutes too long, somehow fails to deliver satisfactorily on any count.

The message that it does have is sweet, however, and understandable to people of all nations. And there's something charming about the fact that in Hong Kong, 3D Sex & Zen made more than Avatar on its opening day. Overall, it's worth a watch, perhaps more for what it is than what it says.