Marquis de Sade's 'Philosophy in the Boudoir'

Eugenie is a film that shocked 1969 audiences, with interracial kissing, woman-to-woman fondling, and brother-sister sex games. It is beautifully filmed, sublimely acted (within its cult pedigree), and has reams of coolness, which makes it a good bet for modern audiences. If you get bored watching Connery drive his Aston Martin to a romantic rendezvous for some witty repartee, Eugenie will likely bore you. If you prefer graphic to simulated, you might find it lame. But if you can buy into the characters and appreciate the care of the filmmaking, Eugenie is a rewarding, disturbing piece of celluloid. In the interview, Franco states "Of all my films, it is the one I hate the least." If you know Franco and his staggering body of work, that's saying something.

"Eugenie" is a scandalous story from the Marquis de Sade about a naive young girl who is sold by her father into the servitude of a married pair of depraved libertines who proceed to seduce and debauch her. Not surprisingly, it has not received a lot cinematic treatment (and could probably not even be made these days). Even the incredibly prolific and repetitive Jesus Franco only made two versions of the story, this and one in the early 80's called "Erotismo" ("Eugenie de Sade", made a year later with Soledad Miranda, is also based on a De Sade story, but is about a very different character also named Eugenie).

This is no doubt the better version. It was made at a time when Franco had access to plenty of a money through producer Harry Allen Towers and quality international stars, not only Maria Rohm and Jack Taylor as the libertine couple, but even Christopher Lee (who apparently had no idea what he was getting into) as the leader of the strange sex cult the pair belong to. As the title character Eugenie, Swedish actress Marie "Inga" Lillejahl is a typical Franco actress of the period--not as talented as some Franco collaborators like Soledad Miranda or Rosalba Neri, but very beautiful and classy unlike many of his later actresses (including his wife Lina Romay, who beautiful as she was, had a bad tendency of indulging the director in his most tasteless cinematic fantasies). Lillejahl, I might also add, was older than the character she played, and it turns out it's much better to cast a twenty year old as a fourteen year in a fairly explicit role than an actual fourteen year old as he did in "Erotismo" (Katja Beinert, who ironically could have easily passed for twenty), not only for moral reasons but also artistic ones--just as a drunk is best played by someone who is not actually drunk, a naive innocent is most effectively played by someone who is NOT actually a naive innocent.

The beautiful, dream-like style of the movie also does a lot to mitigate the inherent sleaziness of the subject matter. The scenes of Lillejahl stumbling naked along barren sand dunes with lots of phallic jutting rocks as the morning sun comes up are very memorable (even if they don't make a lot of sense). The repetitive opening and closing sequences Franco uses is a hoary device that goes all the way back to the British classic "Dead of Night", but it is quite effective and really adds to the dream-like atmosphere. One of the "good" Franco movies.

I'm sorry, I just can't be objective about 'Eugenie'. As I already love Jess Franco movies I can't even begin to imagine what someone unfamiliar with his output would make of this one. They'd probably be bored I suppose, but it's difficult to say. If you already groove behind Franco's strange and stylish sexploitation movies you will enjoy this one, loosely based on the Marquis De Sade. Franco regulars Jack Taylor ('Succubus'), Maria Rohm ('The Bloody Judge') and Paul Muller ('Vampyros Lesbos') are on hand, but the main reason to watch this is for the gorgeous Marie Liljedahl, best remembered as the star of 60s erotic cult fave 'Inga', and the appearance of horror legend Christopher Lee. Lee basically did this one as a favour for producer Harry Alan Towers, filmed for one day, and was later shocked to see the nudity that surrounded him. Franco made some borderline hardcore movies in his career, but despite being inspired by De Sade, 'Eugenie' isn't one of them, and is really quite tame. There's lots of nudity, and a bit of whipping, but that's about it. Eugenie's "journey into perversion" mainly appears to involve having her breasts fondled by various people and smoking a funny cigarette, but as Ms. Liljedahl is such a major babe most viewers will not be disappointed. The movie seems to have a much larger budget than many of Franco's other similar movies, and while the ultra-groovy soundtrack isn't as mind-blowing as 'Vampyros Lesbos' it's still very cool. So Franco fans will really dig this one, but newcomers are best advised checking out 'Succubus' or 'Vampyros Lesbos' first. Jess Franco's movies are certainly an acquired taste, but once you get hooked they are a real delight! I've only seen about a dozen out of his 200+ (or is that 300+?) output, and I would put 'Eugenie' somewhere in the middle. Not his best, but still recommended to fans of 1960s Eurosleaze.

Having read a lot of positive reviews about this film on the Internet (and the mystique surrounding it due to unavailability), it was no real surprise that it would be the first Jess Franco title I decided to seek out. Overall, I'm very glad I finally took the plunge to discover for myself Franco's very distinctive world-view. And I know this is one film I'll be looking forward to watch again – and not purely for its exploitation value, mind you!

De Sade was most certainly a writer ahead of his time, so the updating to modern times comes off particularly well here. Production values are efficient enough and generally manage to belie the low-budget Franco and producer Harry Alan Towers had to work with; Franco's mise-en-scene is quite confident and the film is certainly good to look at. Still, what holds one's attention here is the invigorating 'atmosphere' of decadence which Franco manages to create around a flimsy but fascinating plot. Perhaps thankfully, the film is not all that long so that it does not overstay its welcome.

While there is certainly a great deal of nudity on display, the film rises above being mere exploitation fare - which I assume is a rare feat for this director, considering his notorious reputation. It is aided a great deal by genuinely interesting characterizations, particularly the two female leads: Eugenie's blind faith in her obviously more experienced mentor is so complete that she doesn't realize until too late that she is being manipulated; Marianne herself comes off as fairly sympathetic despite her devious nature – all in all, a human being, and we feel sorry for her when she dies (at least, I did!); even the minor supporting characters are put to good use, like the black boatman/guitar player and the deaf-mute servant, which is not often the case with these type of films.

Having said all this, I would be lying if I said I thought that EUGENIE… THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION was a perfect viewing experience. Despite the attractive scenery, I found the numerous out-of-focus shots very distracting and rather than aiding the hallucinatory nature of the story, they end up being merely annoying. Furthermore, I felt that some of the S & M sequences could have been better staged. Besides, there are some inconsistencies in the plot as well: whereas the black boatman is at first depicted as being contrary to the pagan practices, he is seen to join in during the final ceremony where Marianne meets her come-uppance.

The casting is OK, I guess, but it still comes up short in my opinion: Marie Liljedahl, nice-looking though she obviously is, is not entirely comfortable with the complexities of her role (particularly towards the end, where she is unable to properly communicate Eugenie's psychological 'degradation') [N.B.: I tend to agree with what Glenn Erickson wrote about this in his review of the R1 DVD on the 'DVD Savant' website: 'The supposed 'corruption' of Eugenie is completely unconvincing - she remains a duped puppet. When she kills the first time it is out of fear, and the second time is just not fully explained. You don't get the idea that she's progressed to the point where she can 'replace' her hostess in the cult, and that turns out not to be the plan anyway.']; likewise, Jack Taylor - though suitably enigmatic and, at times, even vulnerable - hardly makes for a compelling screen presence. On the other hand, for me, Maria Rohm is the focus of the entire film and she also gives the best performance. Christopher Lee, despite his brief appearance, is smoothly sinister and a definite plus to the proceedings; in fact, he and Rohm make for a much more convincingly 'evil' pair. Then there is Bruno Nicolai's music: a very fine score and a memorable one, but which I feel is, in spots, a bit too jovial for its purpose.

I had already read that the story of the film was 'imagined' by Marianne in online reviews, but it still managed to take me by surprise when it happened. At first I was a bit let-down by this 'flashback' device – for me the film would have ended ideally when Eugenie runs out of the house, comes upon the graves on the beach and realizes that she is trapped on the island which is enclosed by barbed wire. Even the next morning shot when the police siren is heard sounding off in the distance was rather unnecessary. However, upon realizing that everything that we had been watching has yet to take place, rather than seeming a 'cop-out' (akin to what contemporary critics had said of the similar ending to Fritz Lang's marvelous THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW [1944]), it just added a new layer of subversion to the proceedings. It not only implies that Marianne actually relishes the thought of perishing at the hands of her beloved Eugenie but also that this eventuality would be the epitome of a vicious circle of lovers killing each other as a climactic finale on which to end their relationship, tenuous as that may have been: Mirvel (Marianne's stepbrother and long-time lover) kills Theresa (also perhaps once Marianne's lover); Mirvel is in turn killed by Eugenie (Marianne's present lover); Eugenie was to have been killed by Marianne but with the aid of Dolmance (conceivably once also Marianne's lover) kills Marianne instead; Dolmance (also presumably lusting for Eugenie) double-crosses her and pins all three murders onto her, etc.

The acceptance of the dream-state as the environment in which the film is ultimately taking place seems to excuse and indeed justify some of those technical fallacies and character inconsistencies of which I spoke earlier, for what dream is anything but an imperfect and half-remembered rendition of real-life events? In the end, therefore, the impression I was left with regarding the ending was more comparable to the open-ended and ambiguous one found in Luis Bunuel's magnificent BELLE DE JOUR (1967) which could be interpreted in any number of legitimate ways.

Though the film was apparently shot in English, the soundtrack was looped later in the studio. In this respect, it isn't too bad if not always in synch which can prove a distraction. After the many glowing reviews I had read, I found the DVD transfer to be somewhat disappointing (even if I can entirely understand its shortcomings) but, as it is, there is simply too much grain in exterior shots and the print is also a little faded in spots. The extras are fantastic: the 17-minute documentary is excellent indeed, particularly Franco's sincere ruminations about the film and his own working conditions; he comes off as a quite pleasant, even intelligent, man – and completely unpretentious. Tim Lucas' liner notes are a good read, even if he feels a bit over-awed by the film's many (and doubtless genuine) 'qualities'.

In the end, EUGENIE…THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION - or, as it's called on Anchor Bay UK's R2 disc, MARQUIS DE SADE'S PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOUDOIR - may not be a very subtle film (certainly not much is left to the spectator's imagination) but, for all its faults, is quite often a sublime one.

Jess Franco - smut king with talent. Maybe not at his best in this film, but worth buying for de Sade's writings flung into (what was then) present day, as an innocent girl gets seduced by a pervy couple and goes to stay with them upon her father's agreement. She gets sucked into a perversion story before becoming the perversion herself, when violent things naturally happen.

The sex is very restrained for a Franco film, and Chris Lee looks vaguely ashamed in a limited role. But Lee's comments on the DVD about finding himself in a film showing in porn cinemas in Soho, entirely to his surprise, are worthy of purchase alone. He also praises Franco, as he should - the guy has vision, but don't ask me what that vision is!

To see Jess Franco at his erotic best, buy Female Vampire. For Franco completists, and fans of: quirky genre films, the forgotten roles of Christopher Lee, or mildly spicy filmic delights - get to see Eugenie!