Eugenie de Sade

Third Jess Franco film I saw after Bloody Moon and Vampyros Lesbos. After seeing Soledad Miranda in Vampyros Lesbos, I was keen to see more of her films, and I wasn't disappointed, she really carried the film with her great screen presence. Very interesting story and great direction from Franco and interesting surreal visuals especially with the first murder, loved Soledad's red gear. A lot of nudity and sex but Soledad looks great. So all of you who love Soledad Miranda or Jess Franco this film is a must. I saw a lot of links to films such as Peeping Tomand the work of Hitchcock however this took it a lot further, which was great to see.

First things first - 'Eugenie De Sade' isn't to be confused with Jess Franco's other De Sade adaptation 'Eugenie', which to make matters worse also featured Paul Muller, one of his regular actors. That Eugenie starred the gorgeous Marie Liljedahl, this Eugenie stars the gorgeous Soledad Miranda (Franco sure had some stunning leading ladies!). Miranda, who died tragically in the same year as this movie was released, is best remembered for her role in 'Vampyros Lesbos', arguably Franco's best film. Miranda plays Eugenie, the devoted daughter of Albert Radeck de Franval (Muller), a writer and researcher specializing in erotica. One day she reads a "forbidden" book from her stepfather's collection, and this irrevocably alters their relationship. She becomes his love slave and obeys his every command. He makes her his accomplice in a series of murders, and for a time, both are ecstatic. But when Eugenie begins to fall in love with her latest victim, Paul, a flaky jazz rock musician (Andres Monales, also from 'Vampyros Lesbos'), the wrath of de Franval is sure to be swift and savage. Having nosy writer Tanner (played by Franco himself) hot on their trail doesn't help matters any either. This is one of Franco's better efforts and as good a place as any to jump into his world. Franco's movies are generally stylish, erotic and dreamlike, and that certainly describes this one. The two leads are perfectly cast. Muller plays the jaded sophisticate very well, and Miranda is just beautiful. Anybody who has ever enjoyed a Franco movie should try and see this one. You won't be disappointed!

If Franco did a single great thing in his tortuous career, that was discovering Soledad Miranda.

Forget what the plot is supposedly about. If you don't have the DVD, there's an accompanying interview with Franco on making the film. His discussion of De Sade and how that informs his work is as boring as De Sade's own writings, but look how he lights up when he starts talking about Soledad. As an old man, you can tell he is still touched by having known her. It is the same mystique that enthralled Von Sternberg to Dietrich.

Born, according to Franco at least, to gypsy parents, she was a successful flamenco dancer and singer before making the transition to film. I've only seen her in this and Vampyros, she's great in both but in the extraordinary way of dancers. It isn't about acting, she wasn't much good in the sense Streep is good. It's having a presence, enchanting, teasing by simple breath.

As Franco talks of her, that segment is peppered with images of her from the film, the rest of the film was beginning to blur but every single one of those I could instantly remember—crouched before a fireplace holding her knees, grazing a thigh, splayed on a bed, pensive with sunglasses in the car, gypsy tinkle in the eye before murder, playful dancing out of her skimpy skirt, I will probably revisit the film years later and be able to recall every pose. And isn't this what the film is about?

It's Franco photographing Soledad.

There's a surrogate father here who, in essence, takes Soledad on the journey to staged erotic images. Franco is actually in the film as the 'writer' looking for a fascinating character.

It's probably his most pure, because it is most purely about his desire to photograph beauty (and murder). The film begins with a softcore scene that leads to strangulation, 'looked on' by Franco as the director. Framed as Soledad's confessional to Franco, the whole film is gauzy, erotic reminisces on a deathbed. So how poignant when you know that she was already dead when the film was released? That, framed as memory, this is the last we'll see of her?

And the images? The violence is tame by contemporary standards, which is for the better, fewer distraction. Being so blatantly stagy, it even adds to the effect. And whereas the male-driven story of violence is typically sloppy, the images, Soledad's images as she remembers, attain a unique quality. Soft around the edges, selfless by contrast to Sade's juvenile philosophy of selfishness.

Seeing select footage of this at some film festival, you'd call it experimental. Sometimes the camera roams over mundane details, sometimes it floats in air, sometimes it blurs and finds again, faces, textures of weather. It's as if someone is trying to remember, distorting, fixating, carried along by intruding thoughts—a sort of inverse visual Lolita.

It isn't self-consciously so, which again is for the better. A filmmaker with a semiconscious talent for images, films a woman (not outright sexy) semiconscious of her allure. It's great if you can drift in that space between them.

Eugenie De Sade (1970)

**** (out of 4)

One of Jess Franco's best has Soledad Miranda playing the naive Eugenie, a young girl who one day discovers a sexual book that has been hidden by her stepfather Albert (Paul Muller). Soon the two begin a series of murders just for the sake of being able to get away with it and their weird connection eventually leads to a sexual relationship.

Based on the work of Marquis de Sade, this film here is without question one of the director's best and there's no doubt that it's the best film that he and Soledad worked together on. While VAMPYROS LESBOS and SHE KILLED IN ECSTACY are much more popular and known films, this weird sexual drama manages so many things and contains such great performances that it's hard to think of the director and star being able to do anything else better. There are certainly some flaws to be found in regards to the plot but the overall weirdness created by Franco is just something rather unique and special in its own way.

The film certainly works so well because of the two lead actors. Miranda was always good when she worked with Franco but this here is without question her greatest performance. Her character goes through quite a few awakenings here and I thought the actress perfectly captured all of them. Just look at the opening shot of her when we just see her sitting in a chair. Just the look in her eyes tells us everything we need to know. Whenever it comes time to seduce her father and other victims, the actress pulls this off without a problem. She even has some comic moments here including a striptease sequence. As great as Miranda is, the attention often makes one overlook how great Muller is as well. I really thought he managed to pull off this role and the snake quality he brings really helps the film. This is especially true because you believe that you're watching such a sick person who would plan not only these murders but the seduction of his stepdaughter and another crime that I won't ruin for those who haven't seen the film.

Franco's direction is also among the best of his career as he makes the film flow very smoothly. He takes the film from one weird sequence into another and manages to make you like both of these characters no matter how strange and diabolical they are. Another major bonus is the terrific score by Bruno Nicolai, which perfectly captures the innocence of the girl at the start of the film and the weird sexuality she begins to go through. EUGENIE DE SADE features a director at the top of his game, an actress at her very best and a score that just perfectly brings everything together.

The first Jesus Franco movie that I saw was Vampyros Lesbos. I liked it very much... it was different, strange and almost hypnotic. I must admit that I liked his style, but the main reason that I continued watching his movies was that in several of his movies he casted Soledad Miranda; a gorgeous Spanish actress that lived in the 70's and that played lead roles in some of his movies. Her screen presence was so powerful, mysterious and unlike any other Hollywood actress today.

Anyways, Eugenie is a story of sex, crime, love and devotion. Miranda plays Eugenie, a quiet young girl that lives with her stepfather in Europe. The stepfather is a famous writer with a secret and perverse dark personality. As the movie develops, Eugenie gets involved with her stepfather in his second personality becoming devoted to his malevolent desires.

The score of the movie blends perfectly with the atmosphere and the characters. The camera work in some scenes is unique and experimental. The movie might seem absurd to many viewers because not everyone is ready for a movie of this class. Overall the movie is good in the style of Jess Franco. Anyone wanting to experience a Franco movie should definitely start with Vampyros Lesbos, as it stands unquestionably as his masterpieces.