Je suis curieuse

"Jag är nyfiken – Yellow" is a lot of fun. Like at least one other reviewer, I was, on numerous occasions, laughing out loud. Yellow is energetic, playful, self-aware, explorative. Don't expect Bergman here. This movie is about a youth in the early- to mid-60s in Sweden and about the issues, read *contradictions*, that the nation and the world were facing. At times Yellow appears to be an earnest social-political documentary, with Lena, the main character, and others interviewing both common people and politicians (e.g. Olaf Palme at home). At other times, Yellow seems to parody this kind of documentary. All the while, Yellow acts as a personal documentary exploring Lena's life - her home life, her loves, her political views, her view of herself. She is a complete person – complex, flawed, contradictory, happy, sad, curious. And placed over all of this is the wonderful additional dimension of the director, Sjöman, and his crew documenting themselves documenting Lena. It is this that, for me, really gives Yellow wings. Not only do they suddenly appear at some very funny times and in some funny ways, reminding the viewer that this is fiction and artifice, but their presence is itself another layer of the film; they are filming themselves filming themselves. I am reminded of a Bjork music video with this same quality – a music video about the making of a music video, ad infinitum, with each iteration getting weirder and more cartoonish. I think Sjöman may have had something similar in mind. While "Jag är nyfiken – Yellow" may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is certainly intelligent, witty, refreshing, ebullient, and authentic.

This movie caused a great sensation in 1969 because it was considered pornographic. The movie was not allowed to be shown in America. Finally, after a highly publicized court battle, the courts allowed the movie to appear and everybody went to see the movie. The movie was banned in many countries, not only in America, because is showed a man and a woman having sexual intercourse, the first time ever in a movie. However, in the actual scene, they climb a tree in a public park and have intercourse fully clothed in the branches of the tree. It takes the reader's imagination to understand what they are really doing. The content is so mild by today's standards that the movie is largely forgotten. However, it was because of the court precedent set by "I Am Curious (Yellow)" that we are allowed to see almost everything today. Sam Sloan

In the sixties, the Swedish films were known to be the most sexually graphic, but this is the one that really rocked the world… It was shocking in its uninhibited portrayal of sex and in its fulminating piece of social democracy… It was a significant step forward in getting the adult film shown in the theaters…

The film comes in two editions, blue and yellow… The blue version focuses more on the political issues and the yellow concentrates on the emergence of sexual liberation…

The lead character is a young Swedish girl who attempts to hold fast to her philosophy of nonviolence, free love, and democratic socialism... But the realities of her life force her to adopt new and unrestrained ideologies…

Strangely enough, in Sweden, it was criticized more for its left-wing attitudes than for its audacious display of sex

"I Am Curious (Yellow)" was the first "mainstream" movie in the United States to show sexual intercourse. Although the film was made in Sweden, the controversy that it ignited here reveals a lot about how we Americans think and act about sex.

The film itself is no masterpiece, but is mildly entertaining. The plot, as such is, centers around Lena, a young woman harboring bad feelings toward the men who have slept with her. She has a dream in which she ties her first 23 men, all of whom were using her only for their own orgasm, to a large tree and dynamites them. Gee, that sounds more like an American movie of today.

The other dimension of the plot is kind of a documentary about the Swedish policy of not waging overt war against any country who occupies them. Remember, this was during the cold war, and even though Sweden has been officially neutral for many years, there was a country nearby that was too big to ignore or trust. In the unlikely even of occupation, Swedish citizens were urged to wage "passive resistance" in the form of fraternization, work slowdown. and sabotage. The "Yellow" in the title comes from the Swedish flag, along with its sequel "I am Curious (Blue)."

It was very hip for young people to see this movie. Although it was banned in many locations, many baby boomers traveled someplace else to see the movie. Ah, the forbidden fruit! After reviewing "I am Curious (Yellow)" at least five times, a committee of local civic and religious leaders decided it had no redeeming social qualities and banned it in my native Pittsburgh. It just happened that I had a trip to L.A. that summer and a paid premium price to see this otherwise undistinguished film. And most college students, including myself, were not flush with extra cash.

Filmed in black and white in Swedish with English subtitles, it was just a bit hard to keep up with what was going on. But then again, you really couldn't think of this surrealistic story in a linear way.

The movie did offer some very entertaining diversions, including the opening scene where Lena and her wealthy sponsor attend a reading of "Babi Yar" by Yevtushenko. There was even a cameo of Dr. Martin Luther King. Lena and one boyfriend also had sex in public places -- it probably would have been meaningful if you knew Stockholm. To be very honest, most of the sex scenes were funny rather than erotic, whether or not that was intended.

This firm broke the taboo of showing sex in America, for better or worse. Many American movies in subsequent years have shown sex. Just as "The Dirty Dozen" broke the taboo against four-letter words in mainstream U.S. films. Now you hear language, in movies, even on TV and especially the radio, that would have offended "polite" people a generation ago. I guess the viewer must decide whether that is progress.

I suspect the makers of this film meant it to be surrealistic, not to be taken totally seriously, sort of like "Candy," another film of that era, or "Ally McBeal" in modern times.

Forget the hype about the nudity and censorship. Forget that it's at the least an experimental film with minimal impression. Focus instead on Ms. Nyman's performance. It's tour de force.

When she's interviewing by-standers documentary style, she shines. When she's knee deep in anger and destroying sets, she's believable. When she's literally exposing all of herself for the sex scenes, she never holds back. In short, she's the ONLY reason I watched this film to its completion.

I liked that this film is a film within a film. Otherwise, it serves no purpose. Sorry, folks; I calls 'em as I sees 'em.