Even though I knew this film was an early-ish Roman Polanski I still wasn't prepared for the overt stamp of perversion running through it. Unlike Knife in the Water and some of the other subtitled films I have seen of his, this has none of the beauty that I know he is capable of. This film is just appalling. This is probably because it is not just directed by him but written and produced also. It's a shame that we have his thoughts directed on celluloid as his thoughts are the worst thing about him - cue a very perverted film.
I watched this in 2014 and it looked like it was made in the seventies, not sure if shortly after the US Government tried to deport him but they should have based on this film alone. So how can I explain the story? Wide-eyed, beautiful blonde walks around an Amalfi villa half-naked for two and a half hours saying and doing the dumbest **** that I have ever seen on celluloid? No wait, Dumb and Dumber just beat her but hey, that's a spoof on stupidity, this sadly isn't. To be honest, I am embarrassed to be a woman and to watch this all the way through. My toes were curling and I am no sandal-wearing feminist, I just baulk at watching a woman being submissively whipped during sex and then telling her abuser she loves him.
To sum this up, the script could have been written by a teenager and some of the one-liners in it (some by Mr Polanski) are truly truly cringe worthy. I would recommend this film if I thought you could glean any film-making tips from it but this is no Tess or The Pianist. I think Mr Polanski had so many other things on his mind when making this film he forgot how to direct it. I didn't recognise any of his craftsmanship which is why I hired it in the first place. In keeping with Bitter Moon which was also another turkey, avoid this film if you actually want some substance to your main character and some depth to the story.
I watched this in 2014 and it looked like it was made in the seventies, not sure if shortly after the US Government tried to deport him but they should have based on this film alone. So how can I explain the story? Wide-eyed, beautiful blonde walks around an Amalfi villa half-naked for two and a half hours saying and doing the dumbest **** that I have ever seen on celluloid? No wait, Dumb and Dumber just beat her but hey, that's a spoof on stupidity, this sadly isn't. To be honest, I am embarrassed to be a woman and to watch this all the way through. My toes were curling and I am no sandal-wearing feminist, I just baulk at watching a woman being submissively whipped during sex and then telling her abuser she loves him.
To sum this up, the script could have been written by a teenager and some of the one-liners in it (some by Mr Polanski) are truly truly cringe worthy. I would recommend this film if I thought you could glean any film-making tips from it but this is no Tess or The Pianist. I think Mr Polanski had so many other things on his mind when making this film he forgot how to direct it. I didn't recognise any of his craftsmanship which is why I hired it in the first place. In keeping with Bitter Moon which was also another turkey, avoid this film if you actually want some substance to your main character and some depth to the story.