St. Petersburg, early 20th century. The handsome and secretive Johann specializes in shooting erotic pictures depicting the floggings of bare-bottomed women. With the help of his assistants, the photographic creations gradually penetrate the peaceful households of two upper-class Russian families.
Category: Arthouse
Charles Bremer, a retired, wealthy aesthete, regularly hires Lisa, a young female artist’s model, to strip for him to the soundtrack of a Donizetti aria. Charles writes letters to his dead mother, plays church organ, loves flowers, and attends drawing classes. Lisa meanwhile is having problems with her chauvinist, drug-abusing boyfriend David, a modernistic painter who keeps hitting her for money. As Charles and Lisa form a strong attachment that has nothing to do with sex, it becomes clear that the aggressive David presents a problem that needs to be solved.
Former music-video director Michael H. Shamberg debut film is an experimental drama about a woman who comes to terms with painful childhood memories. Orlando is an expatriate American sports journalist living in Paris. She is also slowly recovering from childhood sexual abuse from her father and an incestuous relationship with her late brother. As she wanders the streets on a rainy evening, she sullenly ruminates over her memories. Both Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci play small parts in this film, while legendary filmmaker Chris Marker provides computer graphics.
A woman, Betty, is visited by a cleaning product salesman, Farnesio, the day she is going away on a trip. The salesman stays in the house and as they have some drinks a series of bizarre events occur.
On his 40th birthday, a man engineers a revolt against himself. He telephones his lovers — all four of them — and arranges to meet them at his dance school that afternoon. The women are shocked to discover that they have been sharing the affections of the same man. He arrives and tries to explain his actions. He has realized that time is limited for each of us. Total honesty is the only answer. One by one we review the beginning of each affair. The man and his lovers discuss passion, possession, time.
A wry and comic look at the shifting of power in sexual relationships, Francois Ozon’s film is adapted from a play written but never staged by the celebrated German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder. When the smooth-talking Leopold , a successful businessman of 50, seduces 20-year-old Franz, the youngster falls under his spell and moves in with him. But, Leopold soon reveals his true colours and Franz contemplates returning to his girlfriend – until Leopold seduces her too. The arrival of Leopold’s former lover Vera, a male to female transsexual, only complicates matters further.
Fifth short film directed by István Szabó. It was presented at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won a Special Award. There is practically no argument, because it is nothing more than an act of love for Cecília Esztergályos, who at that time was Szabó’s girlfriend.