Le parfum de Mathilde (1994)

Unlike his fellow countryman José Bénazéraf, who dove headfirst into the world of hardcore adult films once hardcore pornography became legal in France, Jean Rollin had a rather acrimonious relationship with adult films. Although Rollin, like a lot of directors, initially found the concept of being able to film hardcore material freeing and rebellious, he ultimately found the practice artistically unfulfilling. Rollin himself was always the first to admit that his adult features were done strictly for economic reasons with Rollin signing the works with the pseudonym “Michel Gentil” and Rollin would even claim that he directed everything but the sex scenes, turning those over to his assistant director while he would have a smoke. The biggest exception to this rule would be Phantasmes (1975), released in some territories as “The Seduction of Amy”, in which Rollin used his real name and brought the same sensibilities that defined his outstanding horror films. It is also of course worth mentioning that it was on the set of one of his adult films where Rollin met Brigitte Lahaie who would go on to become a muse of sorts for Rollin. In the midst of the 90's, Rollin unexpectedly found himself back in the hardcore realm again when adult producer Marc Dorcel roped him into writing and eventually co-directing Le parfum de Mathilde, a standout film in its genre with a feeling that is distinctly Rollin.

Agnes (Draghixa), a young bride-to-be is set to marry wealthy widower Remy. After being taken to Remy's countryside chateau by her aunt and uncle who arraigned the marriage, the innocent and virginal Agnes is shocked to discover the castle to be a den of perversity, with the staff and guests openly displaying their sexual appetites to a horrified Agnes. Hoping her future husband will be a savior, Agnes is further dismayed to learn that Remy is the architect of all the orgiastic behavior and intends for Agnes to be inducted into the libertine way of life at the chateau, where the memory of Remy's former wife Mathilda is ever present.

Playing out like a hardcore take on Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) had it been adapted from the Marquis de Sade, there are several parallels that could be drawn between Le parfum de Mathilde (The Scent of Mathilda) and the previously mentioned Phantasmes aside from the obvious Sadean nature of both storylines, the classic Sade theme of an innocent led into a perverse, libertine world being at the center of Le parfum de Mathilde. What the two also have in common and what set them apart from Rollin's other, work-for-hire hardcore work is that both seem like adult films actually written and designed by Rollin. Although he's only credited as the screenwriter, again, Rollin co-directed the film along with Dorcel and it would seem as if Dorcel handled all the sex scenes while Rollin did the majority of the heavy lifting. Rollin's aesthetic fingerprints are all over the film with the gothic chateau setting of course being a Rollin staple. Even the films 90's shot-on-video look doesn't rob the film of Rollin's unique visual style and the video look does give the film a strange, prurient atmosphere. Rollin even invokes The Nude Vampire (1970) with the appearances of odd masks during Agnes's martial ceremony and the ritualistic, cult-like vibe of the sequence. Draghixa does play the Sadean innocent type very well, and curiously she has a habit of disappearing for stretches of the film, the film's final third being more Dorcel than Rollin, though the final surprise of the film is a purely Rollin addition.

The 90's were a fairly trying time for Rollin. A good portion of the decade was spent by Rollin writing a series of novels, one of which was eventually adapted into Two Orphan Vampires (1997), Rollin's true comeback feature. Le parfum de Mathilde was made during a time when Rollin had extreme difficulty getting funding which is perhaps why he accepted Dorcel's offer. Though he would later claim that the film wasn't all that great, he wasn't regretful about working on it, and even used his real name for the screenwriting credit. The film even made it to the States, released by Vivid Video as “The Scent of Mathilda” and got some good press at the time from the adult trade magazines. Over time however, it seems as if the film has been forgotten about, rarely getting a mention even when Rollin's adult films are discussed. Perhaps it's due to him being un-credited as the co-director or the fact that many adult titles from the 90's tend to get pushed aside in favor of features from the 70's and 80's, but Le parfume de Mathilde is a title worth seeking out. For Rollin fans, it's a curious work seeing him return to a genre which he bowed out of decades prior but in general it's a wonderful example of what's possible in the adult medium when a mind such as Rollin's is involved.