Flowers of Perversion (2005)

AKA Jess Franco’s Perversion

Although portions of his written legacy were destroyed in his day by government imposed censorship and simply lost to time or environmental factors, the Marquis de Sade nonetheless left a prolific bibliography of everything consisting from novels, short stories and plays to philosophical musings and political pamphlets, so it’s a curious thing that most film adaptations of de Sade’s work tend to be based off only his most well known works. Jess Franco turned to de Sade for inspiration more than any other filmmaker and its true that Franco’s go-to de Sade tale was Philosophy in the Bedroom, having adapted it numerous times and using the story as a template for several other films. Franco also adapted Justine in 1968 but he also explored other de Sade writings like Eugenie de Franval which became Eugenie de Sade (1970) and Franco’s de Sade obsession even carried over into his digital era with the abstract Helter Skelter (2000) which, despite not being based on one specific de Sade text was inspirited by spirit of de Sade’s writings, featuring several voice-over’s reciting de Sade quotes. Franco would again think outside the box when it came to de Sade in 2005, taking on de Sade’s Augustine de Villeblanche, ou le Stratagème de l’amour found in the collection Historiettes, Contes et Fabliaux with Flowers of Perversion, one of Franco’s most challenging yet rewarding films from his digital era.

Two prostitutes (Carmen Montes and Fata Morgana) arrive at the brothel of Madame Villeblanche (Lina Romay) looking for work. Villeblanche takes them on, although hers is no ordinary brothel as Villeblanche indoctrinates them into her philosophy of sadomasochistic pleasure which has no use for men. The two are instructed to learn to punish any fellow worker who dares love a man and to lure potential male victims to the brothels torture chambers where Villeblanche and her pupils gleefully put their philosophy into action.

Fitting in snugly with Franco’s other films from this period, if there’s one film that Flowers of Perversion (Flores de perversión) shares many familiarities with it would be Helter Skelter and not simply because of the de Sade connection. Obviously the biggest difference between the two would be Flowers of Perversion having a central idea that comes full circle whereas Helter Skelter was a plotless exercise in abstraction but both films are structured in a remarkably similar fashion. While Franco never looses sight of Villeblanche’s tutelage of the two girls, he prefers a random succession of scenarios ala Helter Skelter rather than coherent storytelling. The film drifts from one random situation to another, be it a lovemaking session between Romay and Rachel Sheppard hilariously interrupted by unending phone calls, Montes and Morgana torturing the male lover of a fellow employee and most unusually, numerous cutaways to Montes and Morgana gyrating in large afro wigs. The length of each scene varies and the longer situations will no doubt test the patience of many, but for those in tune with Franco, the longer a scene goes on, the more hypnotic it becomes. The film is also one of the most visually interesting from Franco’s digital period with moments when Franco will switch from color to black and white or if blood makes an appearance the only visible color will be red. Its an intriguing experiment as are the various image contortions, a constant from Franco’s video productions, that make select appearances during the torture scenes.    

Its important to note that despite being made during Franco’s tenure for One Shot Productions, Flowers of Perversion is not a One Shot film but rather a product of Manacoa Productions, Franco’s own production company. This might cause a bit of confusion in that the film was released on DVD by Germany’s X-Rated Kult as “Jess Franco’s Perversion”, not to be confused with the Sub Rosa released double feature of Franco’s Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula (1998) and Incubus (2002), two One Shot films, under the banner of “Jess Franco’s Perversion”. X-Rated also released Franco’s Flowers of Passion as “Jess Franco’s Passion” with similar looking artwork. Passion also starred Montes and Morgana who both worked very closely with Franco during this period with Morgana first appearing in Vampire Junction (2001) and staying on all the way up to Franco’s two Crypt of the Condemned (2012) films and Montes going on to becoming one of Franco’s greatest later day muses with exceptional turns in Snakewoman (2005), Paula-Paula (2010) and Franco’s final feature Al Pereira vs. the Alligator Ladies (2013). Given the extra-polarizing nature of Franco’s later works, it should go without saying that Flowers of Perversion is only going to appeal to a select audience but said select audience just might find it be to a stand-out in Franco’s digital oeuvre and a quintessentially Franco treatment of one of de Sade’s more obscure stories.

Sexy Sisters (1977)

AKA Die teuflischen Schwestern (The Devilish Sisters), Satanic Sisters, Aberraciones sexuales de una rubia caliente (Sexual Aberrations of a Hot Blonde), Deux soeurs vicieuses (Two Vicious Sisters), Frenesie erotiche di una ninfomane (Erotic Frenzy of a Nymphomaniac) and Swedish Nympho Slaves

Looking back at the long and labyrinthian career of Jess Franco, its interesting how portions of his career can be divided into specific era’s based on the producer Franco was collaborating with at the time, often with certain producers wearing other hats as well. Franco’s series of films with producer/writer Harry Alan Towers which include the likes of 99 Women (1969), Venus in Furs (1969) and Eugenie… the Story of Her Journey into Perversion (1969) are often held in high regard by fans, with the Towers era affording Franco some of the larger budgets he ever worked with as well as some pretty big name performers. Franco’s work with Robert de Nesle also produced a plethora of important titles, particularly Countess Perverse (1973),  Plaisir à trois (1974) and Lorna the Exorcist (1974). Of course there’s also Franco’s highly divisive later days with producer Kevin Collins and One Shot Productions which resulted in avant digital video experiments like Vampire Blues (1999), Vampire Junction (2001) and Snakewoman (2005) amongst others. One especially fruitful partnership Franco formed was with Swiss jack of all trades Erwin C. Dietrich who put his money up for many a Franco title in the 70’s, one of which was Sexy Sisters, a film that at first might seem a tad anonymous but becomes much more interesting upon closer inspection when its connective threads to other Franco films begin to reveal themselves.

Chained to her bed under the watchful eye of her older sister Edie (Pamela Stanford) and Dr. Charles Barnes (Jack Taylor), Millie von Stein (Karine Gambier) is given the diagnosis of a delirious nymphomaniac prone to hallucinations and fits of sexual mania, occasionally quelled when Edie brings her a lover. After being told that her condition is getting worse, Millie begins to become suspicious of her sister and Dr. Barnes after one of her former lovers, Joe, makes a surprise appearance unbeknownst to Edie and Dr. Barnes, who’s mental mind games with Millie mask a sinister motive.

First and foremost, Sexy Sisters isn’t exactly going to the change the minds of detractors who find Franco nothing more than a sleaze merchant as the film most certainly revels in its perversity and for a while it might seem like the film was nothing more than a collection of sex scenes however once a plot begins to emerge, the film picks up quite a bit of steam while naturally retaining its prurient charms. The film is yet another example of Franco expanding upon an idea explored in previous films. Thematically, the film Sexy Sisters seems to take after the most is Nightmares Come at Night (1970) as it finds another mentally fragile woman at the mercy of two malevolent schemers with the blurring of fantasy and reality playing tricks on both the characters and the audience. While nowhere near as hallucinatory a film as Nightmares Come at Night, there are a few moments during Sexy Sisters where Franco does make things a bit ambiguous as it relates to Millie’s mental state and whether or not what she’s experiencing is real or a result of being drugged, with one moment late in the film involving Eric Falk being a classic moment of Franco delirium. The film is also somewhat reminiscent of Doriana Gray (1976) with Millie’s frantic bouts of nymphomania resembling Lina Roamy’s similar fits in Doriana Gray, however unlike that film and Nightmares Come at Night for that matter, the tone of Sexy Sisters is considerably lighter, even surprisingly comedic at times.

The relationship between Franco and Dietrich could perhaps be described as rocky as despite funding many films for Franco, when speaking of him in interviews, Dietrich doesn’t always present Franco in the best light, even claiming in the book Obsession: The Films of Jess Franco that Franco often owed producers money and suggested that he was always so eager to work as much as he did due to being constantly broke. Dietrich even suggested that at one time Franco was wanted by the French police! The look of Sexy Sisters is also worth noting as unlike a lot of films which Franco operated himself, like many of Franco’s Dietrich films, Sexy Sisters was operated by someone else. This has led to some fans over the years saying that the Dietrich films don’t really “feel” like Franco films because they lack the spontaneous, free-form nature of Franco’s camerawork (Doriana Gray, which Franco did operate being a glairing expectation) present in so many of his films. While its definitely noticeable, there are moments in the film which feature Franco’s signature all over them, particularly the night club performance during the opening credits. Although Sexy Sisters is often lost in the shuffle of some of the more well known Franco/Dietrich titles like Doriana Gray or Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun (1977), its nevertheless a sordid little film that’s a worthy addition to any Franco collection.