I haven’t seen a lot of the films nominated for the Oscars this year but as I look over the list, it doesn’t seem like many would make it into Barefoot Aphrodite’s library of sensual films. Look at the list for Best Picture–oil barons, psychotic killers, pregnant teenagers, lawyers…but then there is “Atonement,” one of the films I have seen. The first half is certainly sensual with elegant surroundings perfectly crafted in every detail and sexual tension stirring passions in the hot, humid air of an English summer. But, as the romance and family ties disintegrate, the film becomes stark and harsh. Even individual sensual characters within a film are hard to find. The only one I can think of is one you will not see on the Oscars list–the African nursing home attendent, Jimmy (played by Gbenga Akinnagbe), in “The Savages” who portions out extra tater tots to the elderly, makes cats purr, charms a lonely stranger into kissing him impulsively and then gently refuses her because he loves his girlfriend. He is wonderful and perfectly believable but characters like him are few and far between this year in film.
On another note, I dug up a sensual oldie but goodie–”Mostly Martha” (2001), a German film about a fasitdiuos chef who finds the real joy in food and life after unexpectedly inheriting her sister’s child and the introduction of an Italian chef (played by Sergio Castellitto) into her restaurant kitchen. Ah, if only this film had been called “Mostly Mario!” What a charmer who embodies the pleasure that life is when you are truly sensual and find joy in the simplest moments. There are not as many as I would like but the moments of seduction in this film are picture perfect in my book–the beautiful blindfolded taste-testing of soup with Mario is sensational!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.