During sex, a plan is hatched between two consenting adults. During further sex, the plan is carried out. To celebrate this dramatic moment, sex is had. Lots of it. And while prolific Spanish Director Jess Franco's camera isn't as invasive as on some other, more hard-core occasions, it is fairly graphic, and it lasts a long, long time.
I really like much of what 'Pleasure of Death' has to offer. Franco operates a handheld camera much of the time, and while this makes for somewhat shaky viewing sometimes, there is a real sense of scale and place achieved with this approach. The location is breath-taking, the surrounding views gorgeous. And yet this paradise means nothing to the five characters (or six, if you include the ubiquitous fly who insists on gate-crashing various scenes). This is minimalist direction even from a minimalist director (this extends to a scene where a character is slashed with a knife. No blood appears, making it difficult to notice what is going on. Only a cursory smearing is shown on the corpse in the following scene - a curious decision). In other words, no budget is turned into a positive, and the reason for filming in a certain manner. Many of his 'One Shot Productions' were achieved in a similar way, but without access to the absorbing locations, and using the less evocative means of video.
But, as sometimes occurs with this director, the dramatic tension, the sense of isolation and feelings of imprisonment, the characters themselves, are all smothered in endless bouts of sex, and to be honest - despite Lina Romay, who looks trim and beautiful here, and exudes her usual unabashed sensuality - it becomes rather boring to watch. Possibly Franco gets carried away with the physical talents of his cast, perhaps he is adhering to the wishes of producers and distributors, and perhaps he is just doing exactly as he likes. My money is on the latter -and this is one of Franco's divisive traits: that he makes films primarily for himself. While I love his work for that very reason, a bit of investment in character and storyline could have made this an enthralling piece of work.
I really like much of what 'Pleasure of Death' has to offer. Franco operates a handheld camera much of the time, and while this makes for somewhat shaky viewing sometimes, there is a real sense of scale and place achieved with this approach. The location is breath-taking, the surrounding views gorgeous. And yet this paradise means nothing to the five characters (or six, if you include the ubiquitous fly who insists on gate-crashing various scenes). This is minimalist direction even from a minimalist director (this extends to a scene where a character is slashed with a knife. No blood appears, making it difficult to notice what is going on. Only a cursory smearing is shown on the corpse in the following scene - a curious decision). In other words, no budget is turned into a positive, and the reason for filming in a certain manner. Many of his 'One Shot Productions' were achieved in a similar way, but without access to the absorbing locations, and using the less evocative means of video.
But, as sometimes occurs with this director, the dramatic tension, the sense of isolation and feelings of imprisonment, the characters themselves, are all smothered in endless bouts of sex, and to be honest - despite Lina Romay, who looks trim and beautiful here, and exudes her usual unabashed sensuality - it becomes rather boring to watch. Possibly Franco gets carried away with the physical talents of his cast, perhaps he is adhering to the wishes of producers and distributors, and perhaps he is just doing exactly as he likes. My money is on the latter -and this is one of Franco's divisive traits: that he makes films primarily for himself. While I love his work for that very reason, a bit of investment in character and storyline could have made this an enthralling piece of work.