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Grand Ecstasy

Grand Ecstasy

Released Sep 01st, 1983
Running Time 89
Director Patricia Phomm
Company Xana Home Video
Cast Celia Vetti, Jerry Bower, Jocelyne Clarris, Marlene Myler, Eva Kris
Critical Rating AAA 1/2
Genre Feature

Rating


Reviews

Since Emmanuelle hit American shores almost a decade years ago, European sex films have been relatively quiet. The other efforts in the Emmanuelle series never equaled the success of their predecessor, producing only moderate reaction. The Story of O, directed by Emmanuelle's Just Jaeckin, fared well, but its exotic mix of softcore sex and sado-masochism must be considered a novelty. Strangely, there has not been a European hardcore film to strike gold in American for quite some time.

Passed over theatrically in this country, Grand Ecstasy, is a French production filled with a variety of nice surprises. All the hallmarks of European erotica are here: soft-focus photography, an interesting musical score, and sharp-looking performers. But the outstanding aspect of this small gem is the sex. It's tender, yet explicit at the same time, a genuinely unique mix of kinkiness and sensitivity that proves to be both interesting and stimulating.

The story focuses on an attractive, married couple, played by Eva Kris and Jerry Brower, who are unfulfilled in their sexual relationship. Their sex together, while exciting, never reaches the feverish pitch they both long for. So, during intercourse, they begin fantasizing. While this helps, it's just not enough. Eventually, they take to other outlets, in hopes of finding complete sexual satisfaction.

Of course, this is the type of plot that has been the basis for countless films, adult and non-adult, from Bob and Carol, Ted and Alice to a number of the latest XXX-rated offerings. Rarely, however has this premise been presented so erotically.

One of the film's opening fantasy sequences telegraphs the sort of eroticism that's on the way: a woman lies near a picnic table, masturbating with a roller pin, egg yolk and bread dough while another women arouses herself in a nearby cage. It's way-out, sure – kinky even – but the style in which it is executed strikes a responsive chord that helps make the bizarre seem quite universal.

As the couples continues to further their sex lives, their hopeful dreams become reality. The husband takes to placing and answering ads in swinger's magazines, and his rendezvous' with these people are unforgettable. He meets one stunning brunette who dons black gloves, black lingerie and carries a whip. Another woman rides an exercise bike that has a huge dildo in place of a seat. And, while visiting the Parisian equivalent of a massage parlor, the husband closely watches the activities in a smokey, glass-enclosed room, where two women – one black – lovingly fondle each other.

While the husband is broadening his experiences, his wife is enjoying her own pleasure. She magically recalls an intense liaison with a young lover in her past, while involved in a steamy ménage-trois with a nymphomaniac and an elderly Russian man, named Borin, in the present.

The entire cast of performers come across as everyday people, and this is truly one of the pleasures of this film. There's no bombastic, larger-than-life phonies that often populate American-made adult films. Here, naturalness in both sexuality and performance counts. This helps to make the proceedings both believable and intimate.

Thanks to the realistic acting and the gauzy photography, the sex scenes are almost surreal-utilizing an incredible musical score that features lush, orchestrated classical music, guitar ballads, fast-paced jazz numbers, Girl From Ipanema – like bossa novas, natural sounds and even German polkas.

As with all foreign imports, translation is a problem. The producers have opted for dubbing that is sometimes annoying and out-of-synch. Happily, it's often comical, as well: sexual septuagenarian Boris' accent comes across like that of another famous Russkie, Borris Badanov (of "Bullwinkle" fame). A nice light touch in a mostly serious effort.

In all, Grand Ecstasy is a saucy European film that is a surprising, sensual bon-bon. Viva La European Erotica!



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