Archive for the 'Movies' Category

It sounds like the new Keats movie and the new Coco movie may be a Barefoot Aphrodite sensual movie double feature for the fall. Here is a bit about the Coco movie from The New York Times movie review:

…an unusually vivid and convincing account of the historical past, composed in the present tense. Though its mood and methods are different, “Coco Before Chanel” shares with Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” — another new anti-biopic — a fascination, at once intense and dispassionate, with the lives of women in earlier centuries. Coco and Fanny Brawne, the heroine of Ms. Campion’s film, are not victims of oppression or paragons of resistance but rather individuals, made not of ideology or wishful thinking but of flesh and blood. And clothes of course. Both Fanny and Coco start out as seamstresses with an eye for novelty and a keen aesthetic sense. Coco disdains corsets, sometimes dresses in men’s garments, and adapts simple hats and fisherman’s shirts to marvelously chic effect. The blossoming of her ambition, as much as her love life, drives the story forward, and turns “Coco Before Chanel” into a costume drama worthy of the name. “Coco Before Chanel” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It has sexual situations and a lot of cigarettes. No nudity, though, which would be a distraction from all those lovely clothes.   

In August, one of our Barefoot Aphrodites thought it would be fun to have a sensual movie club meeting to celebrate her birthday. The chosen film was “The Painted Veil” and we each brought a Chinese potluck dish supplemented by Chinese takeout. We met at a friends house out in the country and took time to stroll through her beautiful, playful gardens before the movie. After eating and opening presents, it turned out we didn’t have time to watch our full length feature so we watched an odd little 40s film instead, “I Know Where I’m Going.”

 I grew up watching old black and white films with my family and have very sentimental feelings about them. There is something very pure and straight forward about them and, yes, sensual. This film ended with the romantic but star-crossed couple about to part and just as the woman is to go off and get married, she says to the romantic lead, “Would you do one thing for me? Would you kiss me?” You have to love that for a romantic ending.

We haven’t looked at many black and white films for sensuality. For me, a lot of the sensual is in colors that create the mood. But some films actually use black and white to create a sensual mood such as “Terra Estrangeira.” The oldest film in our sensual movies for women archive was made in 1960–it might be worth going back to the 30s and 40s in search of the sensual…

A site visitor to Barefoot Aphrodite wrote asking if I knew the location of the swimming hole in Walk on the Moon where the Viggo Mortensen and Diane Lane characters have their illicit naked swim together. Even though it is rated as the “best swimming hole scene in a movie” on Swimmingholes.info , the actual location of the swimming hole was hard to find. As the movie was shot on location in Arundel, Quebec, Canada, I’m assuming that is where the swimming hole scene was shot. Tracking down the movie location made me think of some of the deliciously sensual locales of many of the movies on our list and how much fun it would be to track them down as well. With vacation time behind us in my neck of the woods and the colder months ahead, wouldn’t it be fun to plan a sensual getaway to some faraway place that was the location of one of our favorite sensual films for women??? More to come…

It’s a given that a movie about two women who love food would be sensual but what a surprise to find out how sassy, sexy and sensual Julia Child was. There was never any doubt that she loved food but she also has an incredible fun and loving relationship with her husband, Paul Child. From their first meal in France together (which Julia Child describes in her book “My Life in France:” “Paul and I floated out the door into the brilliant sunshine and cool air. Our first lunch together in France had been absolute perfection. It was the most exciting meal of my life.”) to their romantic but fun-loving valentine cards to friends to their love and support of each other in hard times, this is a truly sensual relationship between a man and woman. While Julie Powell’s husband, Eric (played by Chris Messina), is very sweet and appealing, their relationship is no match for the depth, wisdom and love expressed in that of the Child’s. It makes you wish someone would make a movie called “Paul & Julia!”

It is nice to find others supporting the theme of Barefoot Aphrodite–that explicit sex scenes in film are not necessarily adequate turn ons for women and that sensuality is more mysterious and provocative. The following is from an entry in “Between the Covers: The Book Babes’ Guide to a Woman’s Reading Pleasures”:

“The X List: The National Society of Film Critics’ Guide to the Movies That Turn Us On, From It Happened One Night to Last Tango in Paris to Beyond the Valley of the Dolls…and Beyond!” edited by Jami Bernard. Explicit sex scenes are not the only cinematic turn-ons according to this compendium of forty film critics. “Words in movies can be as or more erotic,” says William Wold, citing Molly’s soliloquy in the 1967 movie version of James Joyce’s Ulysses. For Bernard it is the musical Bye Bye Birdie that “heaves with sexual subtext.” Put on a happy face, indeed.

 The movies mentioned are not on Barefoot Aphrodite’s list of sensual films for women (and I wonder how many of the critics are women) but they are worth investigating to see if they qualify! “Valley of the Dolls” anyone?!

It doesn’t take much to create a sensual setting for a movie. It might be as little as dimming the lights. Or it might be as much as creating a whole meal around the theme of the movie, inviting friends and making a Movie Night of it. One simple solution I suggest is sitting down to a movie with a glass of wine or a cocktail. Sometimes you can match it up with the movie such as Chilean wine for an Il Postino viewing or Italian wine from Tuscany for Under the Tuscan Sun. Or just get creative and make your own match. For example, for the Sizzling Chemistry of Out of Sight, try concocting a White Lady. It’s elegant and sexy all at the same time just like the movie. Try it! Make it sensual!

Valentine’s Day–so much potential for the sensual! Need a sensual movie that both You and He will enjoy? Try History of Violence, Y Tu Mama Tambien or Out of Sight. Or, think outside the box and try something a little kinkier like “Secretary” (warning–not everybody’s cup of tea). A movie that is not reviewed on our site but that is sensual in my mind because a tough woman is very sexy is “Long Kiss Goodnight.” Trust me, women and men both seem to enjoy this one! It’s intelligent, funny and sexy with a high body count–how can you go wrong?

 Looking for an unusual gift for a Valentine treat for yourself, a gift for a friend or a special something for your Man? Try one of my favorite sites, Etsy http://www.etsy.com/ – a very hip site where you can buy “all things handmade!” For your Man, check the “Knock His Socks Off” category on the upper left of the homepage.

 Think outside the box–there is nothing more sensual than a new way of looking at things!

It’s Oscar season and movies that focus on quality rather than box office revenue potential are out in the theaters. There’s an interesting array of films–”Doubt,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Revolutionary Road“–out there but do any of them qualify as a sensual movie, especially a movie that women in particular would find sensual? I have to admit, I haven’t kept up with new releases but just judging from the story lines, I doubt it. Even if you turn to foreign films–”Revanche,” “Gomorrah” or “Waltzing with Bashir,” for example–the sensual field looks almost barren with perhaps only Japan’s “Departures” fitting the bill (again, going from the story line–discovering life through death–as I have not caught up with this one yet). Has anyone seen something out there that breaks the mold? Pass it on…

Not surprisingly, many of the films in our archive of sensual films for women are foreign. Looking for a special gift for that sensual someone in your life or even your own sensual self? Try a foreign-film subscription–it buys you one award-winning foreign film per month plus discounts on additional DVDs. Check it out on http://www.filmmovement.com/ ! Have a sensual New Year!