Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman (1975)

The entire flick is sumptuously erotic from start to finish, but there's one very special short scene that I never forgot after I saw it as a girl. I marked the spoiler box just in case - because for me at least, this particular scene is the key scene of the movie. I won't tell you exactly what happens - but I will tell you that it involves Emanuelle and an old-time peep-show machine. The minute I saw that scene, all my hairs raised up and I knew I was ruined forever. Nothing else satisfies me anymore - except acting in AV. I'm SO grateful to Sylvia Kristel and her crew for that! Her pioneering work inspires every thrust of my hips. And her memory will live within me forever. Did I mention I love this movie? I love this movie!

While Just Jaeckin's "original" EMMANUELLE continued its ludicrously lucrative run uninterrupted at one Paris theater on the swanky Champs Elysées for an entire decade, its inevitable sequel proved problematic right from the outset. The liberal attitude of Democratic President Georges Pompidou (who passed away suddenly in 1974) which had enabled the French porn industry to tentatively take shape made way for the crushing clamp-down of his right wing successor Valéry Giscard d'Estaing who, along with his then Prime Minister (and subsequent Father of the Nation from 1995 to 2007) Jacques Chirac, decided to set an example with this particular high profile dose of "filth", demanding a more demure re-titling (the initial ANTI-VIRGIN tag had to go !) as well as substantial cuts which kept the film tied up in limbo in its country of origin for nearly three years ! When it finally did hit Paris screens in January of 1978, on a more discreet location than its predecessor (the city's most famous avenue now well and truly off limits for this type of material) and mere months before François Leterrier's bland third installment GOODBYE, EMMANUELLE - which was already playing stateside - opened, what was supposed to have been an erotic blockbuster passed almost unnoticed. Although it had already done respectable business in other countries by then, its snubbing from polite society on native ground sabotaged both series and any subsequent attempts at big budget up-scale eroticism from French filmmakers.Taken purely on its own merits, EMMANUELLE 2 is actually a considerable improvement over its preachy predecessor, thankfully discarding much of the dispiriting diatribes excusing extra-marital excursions it had lifted ad verbatim from Emmanuelle Arsan's once scandalous 1959 novel. As a regular photographer for various glossy men's publications, most notably Lui magazine, director Francis Giacobetti shared a similar background with Jaeckin if not the urge to rise above his station which, ironically perhaps, helps to make this second installment a far more palatable because much less pretentious affair. Respected DoP Robert Fraisse, the Continental go to guy for pretty pictures of naked people as his much lauded work on Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1992 THE LOVER (in spite of its lofty literary aspirations not all that different from the flick at hand) eloquently attests, makes the most of exotic travelogue locations and the lovely ladies cavorting around in them. Composer Francis Lai, whose soundtrack for David Hamilton's soft focus sex fantasy BILITIS sold through the roof worldwide, contributes his customary assortment of dreamy theme tunes. Mmmm... Hong Kong setting, Sylvia Kristel Au Natural, center spread posturing, elevator muzak. Seventies skin flicks don't come any more quintessential than this.Story doesn't require too much concentration but the frequent flurries of fine female flesh should effortlessly hold viewer attention. Trying to get back to her French ambassador husband Jean (Umberto Orsini), Emmanuelle has to share an all female cabin on the boat over. Italian rip-off artists like the late Joe D'Amato could have made a meal out of a set-up like this but Giacobetti limits the action to a tender same sex exploration between the stunning Sylvia (who has never looked prettier) and blond amazon Caroline Laurence, who made quite an impression playing the stern head mistress in Jean-Claude Roy's extraordinary EDUCATION ANGLAISE and would also pop up in Francis Leroi's seldom seen EMMANUELLE 7. Jean and Emmanuelle have established a comfortable agreement between them that allows either spouse to basically jump anyone they might fancy. While there's no shortage of suitors, Emmanuelle has her heart set on her husband's friend and pilot Christopher (Frédéric Lagache), largely because he doesn't seem particularly keen on her. Ah, so there's truth in the old adage that you want what you can't have.Still, our girl's not exactly going to waste, photogenically fooling around with a bevy of magnificent massage girls led by statuesque Laura Gemser, who of course was to become BLACK EMANUELLE (with just one "m" to avoid copyright infringement !) in an apparently endless string of Spaghetti skin flicks, or flinging herself at half time towards a heavily tattooed jockey incarnated by Italo exploitation mainstay Venantino Venantini. The bit that really got the movie into legal hot water with the French Prez, who was admittedly just looking for any old excuse to put his foot down, is a crudely drawn but effectively hardcore cartoon featuring a corseted young maiden simultaneously taken advantage of at both ends which our heroine in heat views on a nickelodeon machine while she's being felt up by the hunky black dance teacher of Anna-Maria (Catherine Rivet), the shy diplomat's daughter left in her charge, soon to be initiated in the wicked ways of the world by the swinging couple. Latter event represents what little dramatic arc this flick possesses, building up the tease that finds release in a genuinely erotic climax. Captivating Kristel cements star quality by completely consuming every frame with sophisticated sensuality, compensating for what meager demands are made of thespian qualities better served elsewhere.

Like "Emmanuelle, "Joys of a woman" wallows in pseudo-philosophy while displaying a lot of aroused women seeking satisfaction… The setting is Hong Kong, where Emmanuelle is taken through the high-life of the aristocrat… In Jack Jaeckin's first film, Emmanuelle was sexually reserved, and came out as she discovered her hidden sexuality… In the sequel, she explores further into the erotic domain—especially other women—in trying to find the perfect lover… The characters are not real, but ethereal, dream-like creatures floating through life… This quality actually works quite well as Sylvia Kristel encounters other women… The eroticism is soft and sensual… When she confronts a man, however, there is a feeling only of performance… It's much more sharply refreshing and keen… The male lovers never seem to be as compassionate or as feeling as the women, nor are their characters as developed… The photography is quite rich and luxuriant, and has captured a postcard view of modern Hong Kong

I fell in love and lust with Sylvia Kristel after seeing this and the other 'Emmanuelle' films. She isn't typically beautiful, she isn't even the prettiest actress in most of her erotic films! But she has an innocence about her and a sexual hunger that has driven a lot men wild over the course of her career. But! This is an enjoyable erotic little piece of fluff but at times you wish it was a bit of a harder version of soft core porn. They don't spend nearly enough time on the love scenes and frequently cut away when things are just getting interesting. But I did like the mysterious Orient setting, the acupuncture scene and the bit of animation that Sylvia watches on one of those old fashioned movie machines. You will too. This is probably best viewed at home in bed with a young lady friend if you catch my drift and I think you do...