Ask Me What You Want
A Tale of Passion and Secrets In 2024, Ask Me What You Want (original title: Pídeme lo que quieras) became one of the most acclaimed Spanish films of the year because of its unique take on romance. Under the direction of Lucía Alemany, the film examines the intricacies of desire, power, and change on a […]
Last Tango in Paris
A Story Told in Shadows In 1972, Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris emerged as one of cinema’s most provocative and controversial works. While its narrative of a passionate, anonymous affair between an older American widower and a young French woman captivated audiences, the film’s behind-the-scenes realities cast a long shadow over its legacy. Set […]
3-D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy
When Eroticism Puts On 3D Glasses Long before its 2011 release deal, 3D Sex and Zen; Extreme Ecstasy was the talk of the town, and rightfully so. The Hong Kong Sex and Zen franchise is known for its sensationalism, and this was billed as the world’s first 3D Erotica film. In contrast to the franchise’s […]
La Marge
When Pain Turned to Poetry: The Making of La Marge Some films entertain, and then there are films that leave a wound; La Marge is a part of the latter category. Walerian Borowczyk’s La Marge (or The Margin) came out in 1976. It is a tragic romance revolving around a grieving husband and a Parisian […]
Bitter Moon
When Desire Turns Dangerous – The Strange Seduction of Bitter Moon While some films attempt to frame and capture the ideal vision of love, others take the twined feelings of passion and pain and dissect them. For those of us driven by such masochistic visions, Roman Polanski’s Bitter Moon (1992) provides us one of the […]
9 Songs
Between Love, Loneliness, and Sound — The Human Story Behind 9 Songs Michael Winterbottom’s 9 Songs, released in 2004, marked one of the most controversial moments in contemporary British cinema. The film is, on the most superficial level, a minimalist love story between two people, set against the rhythm of live rock concerts and the […]
Shortbus
When the Curtain Rose on New York’s Wildest Secret When “Shortbus” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, the audience was split: some were shocked, others were in awe. “Shortbus” is not simply another indie drama; it is also not an art-house curiosity. It is the hilarious mosaic about sex, loneliness, and connection in […]
Monamour
When Desire Became a Diary Released in 2006, Monamour garnered a plethora of responses as it sought to capture the multiple meanings of eroticism and passion. Considering the bulk of Tinto Brass’s work, Monamour is a gentle and self-reflective work, as opposed to many of Brass’s more self-indulgent sexually charged productions. Monamour is the work […]
Two Moon Junction
The Southern Heat That Started It All Zalman King’s Two Moon Junction began its initial showings in 1988 and confused its audiences. Some critics panned it for being an erotic melodrama, while others praised it for an unabashed portrayal of an erotic thriller concerning desire and rebellion. Most, however, were captivated by the story: a […]
Fifty Shades of Grey
he Beginning of a Global Storm When its movie adaptation came to cinema in the year 2015, Fifty Shades of Grey had earned more than a title of a movie. It was an event. Directed based on the writer’s novels of E. L. James’s, the movie illustrated the characters’ relationship of Anastasia Steele and Christian […]