In Jesus Franco's modern-day interpretation of the Marquis De Sade's Eugenie de Franval the eponymous heroine (Marie Linjedahl), an innocent young woman, is systematically degraded and corrupted by her older lover, Madame de St. Ange (Maria Rohm), and her brother/lover Mirvel (Jack Taylor).
How are we to interpret Franco's comment on Eugenie… the story of her journey into perversion (also known under a plethora of different names, including De Sade 70 , Die Jungfrau und die Peitsche and Wildkatzen ) that, "of all my films it's the one I hate the least". Is the director being deliberately perverse and provocative? Eugenie is, after all, perhaps his most conventional entry; the most like a "well made film". I don't think Franco is being in any way disingenuous. Eugenie is only conventional when compared with other works in the Franco ouvre, being rather less so when just about any other director is used as the yardstick. The reason Franco regards the film highly, then, is perhaps that it showcases in a purer, less compromised form, what he is really about and just how accomplished he could be given even half a chance.
Franco's greatest weaknesses as a film-maker is, paradoxically, his sheer enthusiasm and love for cinema. No matter how inauspicious the circumstances, no matter how impoverished the budget, he would have a go at turning base matter into gold, hoping inspiration would strike once he was on location and the clock was ticking.
But with Eugenie Franco had, for one of the few occasions in his career, adequate resources to build on and so did not need to put his faith in such risky alchemy.
The script by David Welbeck (a pseudonymous Harry Alan Towers) captures the essence of De Sade, providing the director with a solid framework on which to build.
The cast treat the material with respect, giving serious, genuinely committed performances.
Above all, there was the opportunity to do it right. With a decent budget and schedule Franco was not required to rely on the zoom lens to save on camera set-ups. Nor, with the film starring his producer's girlfriend (now wife), did the director have to worry that some unscrupulous third party would add hardcore inserts that distorted his eroticism into pornography.
The result, all told, is a Franco film that contains all the director's virtues but few if any of his vices. Perhaps its treatment of "perversions" is tame by today's standards and maybe there are ideological blind spots – the characteristically male heterosexual treatment of lesbianism for one – but nothing fatal.
Eugenie is, then, the Franco film for people who don't like Franco films. Like Godard with Le Mepris it shows that the director understood conventional cinema practices. The difference was that, whereas Godard was in the position to reject the mainstream, Franco was rejected by it, finding himself without scant opportunity to make another Eugenie no matter how much he might have wanted to.
This Region 2 DVD from Anchor Bay is the same one as is released in the US by Anchor Bay offshot Blue Underground. No matter – a rose by any other name…
The film looks and sounds indecently good, considering it's age and origins and has some small, but perfectly-formed extras to boot: A 17 minute interview segment, "Perversion Stories" with worthwhile contributions from Franco, Towers, Liljedahl – uncertain as to the film's merits – and Christopher Lee, who graciously acknowledges that Franco is "a much better director than he's given credit for"; the obligatory trailer (under the alternative Marquis De Sade's Philosophy in the Boudoir title); a comprehensive poster and stills gallery, marred slightly by the small dimensions of the 113 reproductions; a useful, to-the-point mini-biography of Franco by Perry Martin; and quality liner notes from Tim Lucas of Video Watchdog .
All told, Eugenie… the story of her journey into perversion is a must-have for Francophiles and may even win the director some new converts.
Copyright © K H Brown 2002-2005
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