Emmanuelle (1974)

Emmanuelle (1974)

Emmanuelle is a 1974 French softcore pornography film directed by Just Jaeckin. The film's story is based on the novel Emmanuelle. The film stars Sylvia Kristel in the title role about a woman who takes a trip to Bangkok to enhance her sexual experience. The film was former photographer Just Jaeckin's debut feature film and was shot on location in Thailand and in France between 1973 and 1974.

Emmanuelle was received negatively by critics on its initial release and with a more mixed reception years later. On its initial release in France it was one of the highest grossing French films. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures in the United States making it the first X-rated film released by the company. The film was popular in Europe, the United States and Asia and was followed-up in 1975 with Emmanuelle, The Joys of a Woman. Several other films influenced by Emmanuelle were released including the Italian series Black Emanuelle.

Emmanuelle (Sylvia Kristel) flies to Bangkok to meet her husband Jean (Daniel Sarky), a diplomat, who asks her if she had any other lovers while she was in Paris; she replies that she has not. After taking a nude swim, Emmanuelle is approached by a pretty young girl named Marie-Ange (Christine Boisson), who asks to meet Emmanuelle at her house. Marie-Ange arrives at the house and finds Emmanuelle sleeping, and takes advantage of the situation to feel her body. Emmanuelle wakes up and they go outside where Marie-Ange asks Emmanuelle if she has any photos of herself and Jean having sex, after Emmanuelle replies she does not, Marie-Ange takes a French magazine with a photo of actor Paul Newman and begins to masturbate in front of Emmanuelle. Emmanuelle confesses to Marie-Ange that while she did not cheat on her husband in Paris, she did have sex with two strangers on the flight over to Bangkok. Emmanuelle begins to masturbate as she recounts the tryst. At night, Emmanuelle tells Jean about Marie-Ange's younger girl's lack of shame, which leads to Jean encouraging her to pursue the friendship.

The next day at a party, Marie-Ange introduces Emmanuelle to one of her lovers, an older man named Mario (Alain Cuny). Emmanuelle sees a French archaeologist named Bee (Marika Green) who is outside of most of the expatriate circles and strikes up a private conversation with Bee telling her to meet her at the khlongs. Emmanuelle meets with Bee at the location but Bee is uninterested in Emmanuelle. Undeterred, Emmanuelle gets on Bee's jeep as she is about to leave for the dig site. Meanwhile, Jean is angry that Emmanuelle has left without informing him and suspects that her Squash partner Ariane (Jeanne Colletin) is behind it. On asking her, Ariane tells him that all she has to offer is consolation sex. Emmanuelle and Bee arrive at the dig site where Emmanuelle distracts Bee from her work. The two have sex, but afterwards Bee asks Emmanuelle to leave. Emmanuelle returns home in tears, feeling humiliated. Jean tries to comfort her and suggests she takes another lover.

The next day Emmanuelle and Ariane attempt to play squash but have an argument. Ariane is jealous that Emmanuelle ran off with Bee, as she had hoped to be Emmanuelle's first female lover, while Emmanuelle is displeased at Ariane for having sex with Jean. Their argument leads to Emmanuelle to meet with Mario, stating that at his age, making love becomes so difficult that any man capable of it must be an artist. After consulting with Jean, Emmanuelle resigns herself to a meeting with Mario for dinner. Mario tells Emmanuelle that monogamy will soon die out and that she must learn to let lust, rather than guilt or reason, guide her when it comes to sex, which will lead her to greater levels of pleasure. To instill this lesson, Mario takes her to an opium den, where she is raped by one of the denizens while he watches. Mario then takes Emmanuelle to a boxing ring, where he talks two young men into fighting each other for the right to have sex with her. Mario tells Emmanuelle to choose one of the men as her favorite. After the match, her chosen champion prevails, and she is so aroused by his willingness to fight for her that she licks the blood from a wound on his forehead and then allows him to have sex with her.

Later, Emmanuelle is awakened by Mario, who tells her to change into a dress with a zipper down the back, allowing Mario to strip her instantly for her next sexual encounter. Emmanuelle protests that she is tired and asks Mario if he himself will ever have sex with her. Mario replies that he is waiting for the "next Emmanuelle". The film ends with Emmanuelle sitting at a mirror and applying makeup, hoping that by following Mario's instructions, she will reach the higher levels of pleasure that he has promised.