Das nackte Gesicht der Pornographie (1971)

Das nackte Gesicht der Pornographie: Directed by Wim Verstappen. With Hugo Metsers, Helmert Woudenberg, Bruni Heinke, Ine Veen. Michael is released from prison for a sexual offense, having enjoyed himself carnally with a 15-year-old girl some five years earlier. His parole officer, Eddie, is keen to have his ward integrate into society, arranging for an apartment, lining up a job interview, and vetting some of his new neighbors to find a “nice young woman from a good family.” When he moves into his new apartment, he immediately finds distraction in the form of the countless married and open-minded housewives who live along the same corridor. After some shenanigans, he, in his way, begins to start a new life professionally, arranging a big block party while launching his sex service syndicate.

“The main reason I watched Blue Movie was for the archive Bijlmer footage. No, really! I pass Amsterdamu0026#39;s Biljmer neighbourhood each day by train and see the block where the filmu0026#39;s protagonists live. Now a very built up high-rise suburb on the edge of Amsterdam, Blue Movie was filmed just as the first blocks were completed, but isolated on the edge of the city, surrounded by muddy fields and the neighbourhoodu0026#39;s infrastructure still an afterthought at the planneru0026#39;s office, and contains some priceless footage.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCuriously enough, this is also the 4th most successful ever Dutch film, released at a time that onscreen nudity and sex (with proper actors) was something new and quite daring, the sign of the modern liberated times, and drew an enthusiastic audience. It gave the Bijlmer also a reputation for supposely being full of bored and frustrated housewives. Such a genre of films did not last long into the 70s, since those that wanted to watch sex on screen could watch dedicated sex films without the boring talky bits, and the proper actors realised they were making straight exploitation films rather than art.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs is typical of exploitation films of the 70s, whether sex, horror, or crime, there are the u0026#39;good bitsu0026#39; and there is padding inbetween. A few decades later however, it is actually the padding that is interesting, whilst itu0026#39;s the sex scenes (naked people writhing about to a parping elevator music soundtrack) that are a bore to watch. Blue Movie is absolutely a time capsule, the new Bijlmer flats, the clothes and interiors, and the attitudes towards the new era of sexual liberation.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is also oddly downbeat and not at all erotic – few of the characters seem to be really enjoying themselves, and with the dim lighting and damp pallor of a wintery Amsterdam, you can almost sense the actoru0026#39;s cold toes. The sex party later in the film is barely watchable. As with the downbeat tone of the film, there does appear to be some attempt to make a message, but I was at a loss as to what this was supposed to be.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWatch if you want to see what the Bijlmer looked like in itu0026#39;s first few years or what the Dutch flocked to see at the cinema in 1971, but you might feel a bit bored and depressed towards the end.”