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5
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10
= Highest Rating |
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SNEAK
PREVIEW
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DVD
Release Date: Jan.
29, 2008
Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
A
young couple (Muriel Montossé and Antonio Mayans)
decide to re-energize their sex life by experimenting
with new partners...
At
the start of the 1980s, Spanish maverick Jess
Franco turned much of his energy to a series of
progressively graphic erotic melodramas. Some
of these films pushed the boundaries into hardcore
pornography, while others,
including this title,
were decidedly more restrained, even old-fashioned.
With precious few exceptions, however, many of
these films demonstrated the director's basic
boredom with repetitive scenes of bumping and
grinding — without
an opportunity to introduce perverse fetishism
or an air of pervading gloom, many of these films
became virtually indistinguishable from one another.
Erotica certainly plays a key role in the appeal
of Franco's oeuvre, but the conventional variety
of "bored housewife" films certainly doesn't enable
him to really show his inspiration.
Cecilia,
as one can glean from the above, certainly isn't
among the front rank of Franco's admittedly erratic
filmography — but
nor is it among the dregs, either. The film gets
a lot of mileage out of its lush, photogenic locales,
including an ornate mansion and an almost impossibly
lyrical forest. The director makes the most of
such scenery, and the film is done with taste
and restraint. Zoom shots are kept to a relative
minimum, and compositions tend to have a more
'studied' quality when compared to the roughhewn
aesthetic of much of his work.
Full marks also have to go
to the cast. Sensual Muriel Montossé (The
Inconfessable Orgies of Emmanuelle) is
ideal in the lead. The character of Cecilia is
very much a slave to her sexual urges, and Montossé
does a capable job of making her credible without
coming across as a one-dimensional trollop. Montossé
also has the distinction of being naked for much
of her screen time, a feat perhaps equaled only
by Lina Romay in the likes of Female
Vampire (1973) or Doriana
Grey (1976). The actress also shows an exhibitionist
streak in her various sexual encounters, which
certainly adds to the film's appeal. Franco stalwart
Antonio Mayans (Sadomania)
does a capable job as Montossé's husband, who
reluctantly agrees to succumb to her desire to
"experiment" with other partners; it's not a terribly
well developed character, but Mayans brings some
emotional gravitas to the character's emotional
frustration. And what would a Franco film of this
vintage be without Lina Romay? She doesn't have
much to do here, but she looks fetching in a blonde
wig and introduces some welcome kinkiness to a
drugged out orgy in which she simulates fellatio
on her partner's thumb.
Despite the polish of the production
and the best efforts of the cast,
Cecilia falls short of the intensity of
Franco's best works. The story is simply too ho
hum and predictable, and one can sense the director's
boredom when confronted with so much by-the-numbers
material. Sleaze fanatics will surely embrace
its pictorial qualities, but devotees of the director
will likely feel underwhelmed by its basic blandness
and lack of originality.
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Blue
Underground's release of Cecilia
represents the film's debut on DVD. An obscure
title even among Franco fans, it's been given
the same quality release as any other BU Franco
endeavor. The 1.66/16x9 transfer looks very good.
Grain is evident in some scenes, but colors are
accurately rendered and detail is as sharp as
the cinematography (which favors soft focus effects)
will allow. The film is completely uncut. The
French mono soundtrack is clean and clear, allowing
the familiar music by Daniel White ample presence,
though never at the expense of dialogue. The removable
subtitles are clear and easy to read. Extras include
a trailer and a typically animated interview with
Franco. The chain-smoking director dismisses the
film as "too long and too stupid," but speaks
fondly of his cast and of the experience filming
it. Franco is as witty and opinionated as ever,
noting his disdain for drugs as a key to creative
expression and explaining his problems with the
project. 1/24/08
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