On late night television this film was classified as an adult sex comedy but IMDb list it as a period drama, and I believe it would be better regarded as a simplistic but serious attempt to create a truly erotic film romance in which the relatively few nude sex scenes are largely incidental. Its culminating final love scene involves no dishabille. The theme is a well worn one - that of a young woman (Elizabeth Atkins played by Jane Daniels) who is trapped in a partnership which is insufficiently passionate to fulfill her needs and desires. Other films from L'Extase (1932) to Romance (1999) have treated this situation very much more effectively, nevertheless this one is not without interest or appeal for most viewers of either sex. It is built around a series of flashbacks in which, with the help of massage and guidance from a elderly Chinese lady whose role appears to be essentially that of a homeopathic psychiatrist, its heroine creates a series of mental fantasies that help to fill the emotional gaps in her present life. These are presented as if they may be associated with hypnotically recalled reincarnation experiences. Both the acting and the photography are adequate to convey the story effectively. The story-line is somewhat fragile and the film at times came close to overstaying its welcome, but for me its most tedious sequence was an introductory and over-lengthy lovemaking scene which contributed very little to the story. If this had been cut a little, the film would have come closer to being the true erotic work that I believe its promoters intended. Perhaps they were forced to accept some modifications to their original film-script in order to obtain the funding required for it to be made. It would be interesting to know whether this was indeed the case.
I would (tentatively) award it a User rating of four stars.
I would (tentatively) award it a User rating of four stars.
