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| The ultimate in torture! |
Continuing with our grand return to the very foundations that make this blog one of the last stops to search for obscure (and not so obscure) cult films from a bygone era, we follow the career of Marie Liljedhal, the first Swedish erotica starlet to be in the international spotlight of the film industry. In case you haven't noticed, there isn't a lot of information about her on the Internet (yeah, I know it sounds crazy) and trying to find a copy of her movies on legal formats (DVD, Blu, Ray, Streaming, etc) it's not that easy. So what could be better than using our humble blog by offering room to her legacy? Besides, had she not quit the filming industry the gorgeous Christina Lindberg wouldn't have been possible so, truly, from the bottom of our connoisseur hearts "Thank you Marie Liljedhal, your legacy lives on"
Just when I thought I had seen it all, along comes Maria Rohm in Eugenie...the story of her journey into perversion, Jess Franco
and Harry Towers' adaptation of Marquis de Sade's "La Philosophie dans
le boudoir." Wait, you've seen Maria Rohm in plenty of Jess Franco
films. What's so special about her appearance in this one? Are you
ready? She doesn't wear pants. Well, that was a bit of a letdown.
Whatever do you mean? Name a Jess Franco film where the Austrian actress
does wear pants. No, you're not listening to me. I'm not implying that Maria Rohm doesn't wear pants when she's bathing or having sex with her stepbrother, I mean she hardly ever wears pants..
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| I won't be a vampire today, rest easy. |
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| Life is such a bore. |
Eugenie... is about a beautiful young girl who becomes captivated by an older
woman named Ange. Ange invites Eugenie to spend the weekend with her on
her private island in Spain. What Eugenie doesn't know is Ange and her
step brother/lover Mirvel have brought her to the island to seduce her (my oh my!).
After taking a bath with Ange and a little light kissing she
is drugged at dinner and molested. The next day she wakes up not sure
if it was a dream or real. As the vacation continues Eugenie is
molested more and more to the point of rape and whippings. Ange and
Mirvel invite a sect of Marquis De Sade followers who enter the house
to kill her (what?!). Eugenie stabs Mirvel while he tries to rape her and kills
him. The Marquis de Sade group decides not to kill Eugenie but instead
Ange. After torturing Ange Eugenie runs off naked into the beach only
to be confronted with a large graveyard of sacrificed victims. In a fit
of anger and terror she runs aimlessly through the beach collapsing on
the sand sobbing.
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| Nice place to water my bush. |
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| I see you've never tried anal before. |
Eugenie's "journey" is a beautiful, truthful and disgusting metaphor
for the perversion each one of us must go through in our lives. The
difference is her journey happens in two days therefore it is much more
extreme. We start as children with strange dreams. Thoughts of kissing,
of touching bodies, all confusing ideas thoughts that we cannot place.
This was represented before Eugene got to the island. In one scene she
lays on her bed staring at a picture of Ange. This is the first hint of
perversion entering her life. She is then confronted with Mirvel who
confesses his crush to her. Being confronted with a powerful sexual
presence such as a person or a sexual picture is a second step we can
all relate to. Eugenie crosses the boundary when she first kisses Ange
in the bathtub. She has now confronted a part of her that can never be
taken back. As the film progresses we see each step of Eugenie's
perversion. Confusion (not knowing if it's a dream or reality) Blind
acceptance (kissing and touching Ange and Mirvel while stoned) Guilt
and Self Hate (represented as Mirvel and Ange beating her with whips)
Recovery (the bruises are gone!) More Sexual Partners, Betrayal, Anger
at others, Confusion and ultimately insanity cover the rest of the
film.
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| Lemme diddle your skiddle. |
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| Not so tight! or else how can I swallow your cum? |
The final scene where she is confronted by the graveyard represents
humanity and her realization that everyone has been through this
journey in some way and many have died from it. She weeps for herself
and she weeps for the world, for humans, for the insanity of being
human.
Not to say this is how everyone's journey is. Some are easier than poor
Eugenie's and some are much harder. The simple act of accepting this as
a part of life and depicting it in two days is what is so genius about
Jess Franco's film.
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| Follow me! |
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| OK, let's fuck right here, right now. |
Expecting to see a shlocky, sex filled, Eurotrash film I was blown away
by the power and brilliance of Eugenie and the Story of her Journey
into Perversion. Anyone willing to be truthful when contemplating the
human condition can relate and be effected by this film. Those who think Jess Franco is only a porno film maker are so wrong and this film proves him to be a far greater director, the more than meets the eye kind of film maker.
Here's the movie trailer:
