Flossie

"Flossie," directed by Mac Ahlberg in 1974, is an erotic drama that attempts to blend sensuality with a compelling narrative, but ultimately falls short of delivering a fully engaging film. The story follows the titular character, Flossie, played by Marie Forså, as she navigates a world of sexual exploration and liberation. While the film is visually appealing and daring in its portrayal of erotic themes, it struggles to balance these elements with a coherent and engaging storyline.

One of the film's notable strengths is its cinematography. Ahlberg, who is also an accomplished cinematographer, brings a stylish and polished look to the film. The use of soft lighting and aesthetically pleasing compositions creates a dreamlike quality that enhances the erotic atmosphere. The film's visual appeal is further complemented by its scenic locations and tasteful set designs, which add a layer of sophistication to the otherwise explicit content. The music, with its sensual tones, also plays a significant role in setting the mood and enhancing the film's eroticism.

Despite its visual allure, "Flossie" falters in its storytelling and character development. The plot is thin and often feels like a series of loosely connected vignettes rather than a cohesive narrative. This fragmented approach makes it difficult for viewers to become fully invested in the characters or their journeys. Flossie, as the central character, lacks depth and complexity, making her more of a symbol of sexual freedom than a fully realized individual. The supporting characters are similarly underdeveloped, serving primarily as backdrops to the film's erotic scenes rather than contributing to the story in a meaningful way.

Additionally, the film's pacing is uneven, with moments of intrigue and sensuality interspersed with lengthy, drawn-out scenes that add little to the overall narrative. While the erotic content is undoubtedly the focal point, it often comes at the expense of plot development and character engagement. This imbalance results in a film that is visually stimulating but emotionally flat, failing to leave a lasting impression beyond its explicit scenes.

In conclusion, "Flossie" offers a visually captivating exploration of erotic themes, showcasing Ahlberg's skill as a cinematographer. However, its lack of narrative coherence and shallow character development prevent it from being a truly engaging film. While it may appeal to those interested in the genre, it ultimately feels more like a stylistic exercise than a fully fleshed-out story.

While strolling around Stockholm, an embassy worker becomes fascinated by an attractive older woman and a beautiful young girl accompanying her. He finally chances to meet the older woman and she brings him home and introduces him to the girl, Flossie. Moments later he and Flossie are exchanging oral favors (repeatedly). A half hour or so into the movie they finally take a break from the sex, and the man tells the girl the story of being seduced by three women and ending up the unwitting centerpiece in a sex-club orgy (Man, I hate it when that happens!). Flossie, in turn, tells him about how she was instructed in arts of masturbation and lesbianism at her strict boarding school for really, really sexy, overaged orphans. It turns out though that, aside from the masturbation, lesbianism, and oral sex, Flossie is actually an "untouched" virgin. The older woman is planning for the embassy worker to be her "first" (because he once converted HER from lesbianism and then apparently forgot all about it). She makes him hold off for awhile with Flossie and instead have sex with her. But, of course, he doesn't end up having to wait very long. . .

This is another very loose adaptation of Victorian-era literature by Swedish director/cinematographer Mac Ahlberg (he had earlier tackled John Cleland's "Fannie Hill" and Emile Zola's "Nana"). Between its somewhat classier-than-usual origins, its decent cinematography and music, and its avoidance of hardcore porn conventions (like extreme close-ups of pistoning genitalia and spraying bodily fluids), it ends up being a pretty tasteful affair overall. As Flossie, a barely (barely) legal Maria Forsa is definitely the best thing about this. Forsa was one of the most appealing "Swedish sin"-era beauties. She was perhaps most well-known for several movies she made with expatriate American director Joe Sarno. Kim Franck is also pretty good as the older woman, but like a lot of porn actresses she's saddled with a ridiculous matronly hair-do to make her look older than she really was (while Forsa, of course, is in pig tails at one point). The embassy worker, similarly, is played by a younger man with his hair dyed slightly grey to resemble a sophisticated middle-age playboy type.

Obviously, whatever "plot" this thing has never gets in the way of the sex. This isn't as good as Ahlberg's best films like "I, a Woman", but it's better than anything he did after he went hardcore, and it's worth seeing for Maria Forsa if nothing else.

Mac Ahlberg has come up with a winner in this porn film. Marie Forsa is superbly cast as Flossie the young girl who entrances embassy worker, Jack Archer (Jack Frank) as well as entrancing the male population who see this film. Marie Forsa oozes innocence as well as sexuality which explains her popularity. We must not forget the other beautiful women who appear here.

Maybe the film has been censored to some degree because although Jack Frank appears several times with an erection and there are a number of sex scenes, there are no climax shots and no penetration shots that we get in hard porn nowadays. There are some imaginative scenes such as the orgy scene in which a blindfolded Jack has a threesome in front of an audience; and another scene in which a local stud has the pick of several girls.

Overall, this film combines very sexy girls with a good script, the only blot though is a too frequent use of the close-up of faces when a bit of restraint to show those beautiful bodies would not have gone amiss. Well worth seeing though.

Mindy Wilson as FLOSSIE: A VENUS OF FIFTEEN is the ultimate Victorian porn heroine in my book. The beautiful Maria Lynn/Marie Forsa is similarly well-cast as Mac Ahlberg's FLOSSIE, a film that only flirts with hardcore -perhaps its main defect.

Maria is perhaps the ultimate embodiment of borderline hardcore action: her films for Joe Sarno are still revered as perhaps the ultimate of representing explicit sex on screen tastefully -without showing penetration. That is the format here -we see massive hard-ons (from hero Jack Frank) and simulated fellatio, but it's strictly softcore.

Story has been updated from 19th Century to contemporary milieu, and follows exactly the same storyline as the VENUS OF FIFTEEN hardcore version. Capt. Jack Archer (Jack Frank) is immediately smitten with Flossie when he meets her and her patroness Eva (Kim Frank), and spends the rest of the film dry humping Lynn, until as a threesome he gets to deflower the young virgin under Eva's scrutiny.

Ahlberg includes many flashbacks, as per the Victorian source novel, showing Flossie's sexual initiation into lesbianism as a school girl. Anita Ericsson is her mate in these segments -and went hardcore quite effectively opposite Lynn in the later film "Molly" as well as a favorite of mine "Girl on Her Knees" (both of these made by FLOSSIE producer Inge Ivarson).

Lynn is so appealing, and the direction expert, that FLOSSIE is continually arousing. Even the requisite orgy scenes are well-done, within the confines of softcore.

It is interesting that all three leading ladies worked with Sarno on various of his Scandi shoots. So this authentically Swedish opus is recommended to the growing Joe Sarno cult for comparative purposes.

Sol says: The beautiful Maria Lynn/Marie Forsa is similarly well-cast as Mac Ahlberg's FLOSSIE, a film that only flirts with hardcore -perhaps its main defect.

Not actually true. The film features plenty of hardcore footage of fellatio and intercourse. The film only lacks the current obsession with male ejaculation.

The film is beautifully lit and filmed, and the lead actress is adorable. I'd describe it as an excellent "couples movie", unlike the vast majority of the current product. It is explicit, without being gynecological.