A Film that is not as freaky as you would think, given those involved. This is Marquis De Sade's Justine, the 1968 Version to be exact. The Story is, of course, written by the crazy French 'Nobleman' and tells the tale of a young girl (12 in the Story, but aged up a bit in modern Versions) who experiences lots of turmoil at the cost of her purity. Shockingly, a guy like him is *not* in favor of it. This oft-adapted tale comes to us from Jesus Franco, which should tell you alot. Franco used to do Films that were 'salacious' and controversial. Translation: many of Films are almost just Porn. By the end, it was a really tenuous line. So now here's the thing: this is also Franco's biggest budget Film. As such, he had to make concessions for his financiers and Producers. So the Film is not nearly as salacious as you might think, especially compared to the original story. Basically, Justine goes somewhere, gets raped many times, escapes and goes somewhere else. In this one, they tweak that just a bit. So you're left with a Film that wants to look like a Merchant Ivory Production, but also is based on infamous sleaze. Confusing? Yes. I should also note that the reason I picked this is because Justine is a Character in Season 3 of Penny Dreadful, so why not combine my Series and Film watching?!? To find out how weird this one can be, read on...
So as a Framing Device, we have Klaus Kinski as the Marquis De Sade.
We see him experiencing hallucinations of topless women and the like.
He narrates the Tale...kind of...I guess, while Writing it.
So...follow me here...
Franco was Spanish. De Sade was French. The Film was shot in Italy and West Germany (the good side). Kinski was Polish/German.
My copy was all dubbed into English.
Justine and Juliette are Sisters who are kicked out of a Monastery when they lose both Parents (one to death and one fleeing the Country).
Justine chooses the 'pure' route and gives her money to a Priest (who keeps it).
She has to work for this guy, who looks like he's getting ready to scare Ebenezer Scrooge tonight.
Juliette takes the opposite path, joining a Brothel and finding some Sapphic satisfaction along the way.
Justine's time is not so fun, as she gets framed for a crime, sent to Prison and then broken out with a gang of thugs.
The men all want to rape her, which turns into a fight amongst themselves. Hilarity?
Juliette conspires with her 'co-worker' and they kill their Madame.
According to reports, Franco actually wanted this Actress (on the left) to play Justine, but his financiers picked the other Actress instead.
Justine's time is a mix of surprisingly-good, bad and VERY bad.
Living with a Painter- good.
Running from the Law- bad.
Finding a home...only to have your Mistress killed and you branded as the killer- very bad.
Juliette completes her Arc by killing her cohort and vanishing from the Story...until the end.
Justine escapes from one danger and finds a Monastery. Unfortunately, they are a Monastery of Libertines and live only to sexually-punish others.
Oscar Winner Jack Palance, folks.
In the End, Justine escapes from their attempt to ritually-kill her, only to be back in the way of a Mob.
Juliette Ex Machinas her way in as a Noble Woman- marrying a rich fella- and saves Justine to live with the Painter. Oh and DeSade dies...or something.
In the original story, she's morose and struck by lightning. Ha?
A long, expensive-looking trek with a dubious message. So, in case it wasn't clear, the original Story is not 'pro-purity.' De Sade was a bad guy- to say the least. He wanted to make the point that the 'pure' route was going to lead to nothing but pain. The Film basically pushes that message...but then says that it *isn't* the message when it wraps up. I guess Justine managed to never be forced into sex, but she was definitely beaten and tortured. That was just her 'being tested' or something, I guess. Juliette is involved in all sorts of murder and gets to live a happy life. Interesting moral, no? If you want to keep the same moral for a Story like this, just commit to it. This is not the kind of tale that was designed to really win people over, was it? Getting past all that, the Film looks good. The Acting ranges from decent to about average. I was watching it dubbed, so it is possible that some subtlety is lost. I do have questions about that, given that Jack Palance, you know, spoke English. Was he dubbed or was that actually him? If so, he was acting so broadly that you could stretch him across 5 States! If you're looking for the Film to be weird and perverse, you get close, but not quite there. If you're looking for the Film to try and be classy, you're looking in entirely the wrong place. I mean, this is the same Film who can't even spell Klaus Kinski's name right in the Credits!
Next up, more randomness from my pile of 'get done in 2020' pile (which keeps growing). What will I cover next? Stay tuned...
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