Joe Dallesandro & Sylvia Kristel burn up the silver screen in this outrageously erotic, and shamelessly exploitative epic from kult director Walarien Borowczyk (The Beast, Behind Convent Walls). Dallesandro is Sigimond, husband to a beautiful woman, and father to a little boy. His marriage is idyllic, his life complete. However when he is called to Paris on business he cannot help but notice the mysterious and beautiful prostitute, Diana. Sylvia Kristel is astoundingly sexy as the jaded Diana, who struts around in her black feather coat, always careful to not mess up her expensive coif. Kristel towers above the other prostitutes, and appears simultaneously elegant and trashy. The two share a sexually charged evening together, and the nude forms of these two sex symbol icons of the 70's helps to make "La Marge" an absolute classic of the genre. After the encounter, Sigimond receives some tragic news from home; His little boy has drowned in their swimming pool, and his wife has taken her own life out of despair. Finding the news too hard to deal with, Sigi throws himself into a decadent, sexual affair with Diana. The prostitute has no idea of the family tragedy, and begins to believe that perhaps this man is falling in love with her, and she begins to develop feelings for him as well. After a well-documented series of sexual encounters between the two, Siggi begins to feel that his infidelity might have somehow caused the death of his wife and son. And of course there is no happy ending here, for Sigimond, or Diana.
The look of the production is rich, filmed in primarily garish colours. The costumes, especially Kristel's wardrobe, which is entirely black, are elegant. The nudity is often blunt, with many shots of naked bodies filmed from the neck down, lending a voyeuristic feel to some scenes. Director Borowczyk lets the camera pan slowly down the bodies of his actors, leering at their nudity. This style occasionally lends the film a slightly pornographic feel. But this is in no way pornographic, as from start to finish, every scene is artfully filmed, paying great attention to little details. The use of pop music of the day, as well as some dreamy Pink Floyd music adds to the surreal goings on. "La Marge" possesses a definite haunting quality, that is hard to describe. The old woman who cleans the rooms of the prostitutes is forever cruising the halls and peeking into the keyholes, and there is a vicious pimp, who becomes quite jealous and violent when he realizes that his girl Diana might be falling for a client. "La Marge" is also a 'must see' for fans of Sylvia Kristel, as her portrayal of the jaded and proud hooker Diana is her best, most provocative role to date. She is permitted to show a bit more depth and personality here than when she had her turn as 'Emmanuelle.' And she has never looked more beautiful. Not surprisingly there is no English subtitled DVD available, which is a tragedy indeed. But there are bootlegs that pop up on the internet occasionally. "La Marge" is probably Borowczyk's finest and most accessible film, next to his gorgeous "Behind Convent Walls," and is well worth tracking down.
The look of the production is rich, filmed in primarily garish colours. The costumes, especially Kristel's wardrobe, which is entirely black, are elegant. The nudity is often blunt, with many shots of naked bodies filmed from the neck down, lending a voyeuristic feel to some scenes. Director Borowczyk lets the camera pan slowly down the bodies of his actors, leering at their nudity. This style occasionally lends the film a slightly pornographic feel. But this is in no way pornographic, as from start to finish, every scene is artfully filmed, paying great attention to little details. The use of pop music of the day, as well as some dreamy Pink Floyd music adds to the surreal goings on. "La Marge" possesses a definite haunting quality, that is hard to describe. The old woman who cleans the rooms of the prostitutes is forever cruising the halls and peeking into the keyholes, and there is a vicious pimp, who becomes quite jealous and violent when he realizes that his girl Diana might be falling for a client. "La Marge" is also a 'must see' for fans of Sylvia Kristel, as her portrayal of the jaded and proud hooker Diana is her best, most provocative role to date. She is permitted to show a bit more depth and personality here than when she had her turn as 'Emmanuelle.' And she has never looked more beautiful. Not surprisingly there is no English subtitled DVD available, which is a tragedy indeed. But there are bootlegs that pop up on the internet occasionally. "La Marge" is probably Borowczyk's finest and most accessible film, next to his gorgeous "Behind Convent Walls," and is well worth tracking down.