
Sarnomadethiscredible,andincrediblyeroticfilminearly1969Sweden.Thereisverylittlenudityinthefilm,thoughSarnohassaidthattheoneprintknowntoexist,currentlyreleasedonDVDasa"bonusfeature"intheUnitedStates,ismissingfootage.Sarnomadeafinefilmthefollowingyear("DaddyDarling")aboutayoungwoman'sincestuousdesireforherfather,andin"TheIndelicateBalance"Sarnoreversesthesexesbytellingthestoryofamotherwhoissexuallyattractedtoheradultson,whohasjustreturnedhomeafterfouryearsofabsence,nowmarriedandseeminglyhappy,butcertainlynotwithoutSarno'stypeofemotionalbaggage.Therestofthefamily,withtheexceptionoftheson'snewbride,knowsoftheincestuoussituation,butofcoursenothingisdoneaboutthematteruntilthetensionshavebuilttoanintense,drama-filledclimax.<br/> IfSarnosetouttomakeaneroticfilmthatrivaledBergman,hecouldnothavedoneabetterjob.Theactingbytheentirecastisexcellent--noneoftheseactorsseemtohavebeeninanyotherSarnofilm.Whiletheindoorsceneswereshotinstudio,theexteriorswereshotonSwedishfarmlandinthemiddleofaveryharshwinter,andtheendlesssnowfallsandcoldaddsanevenmoreclaustrophobicfeelingtoafilmthat,fromthestart,isrifewithtensionanduneasiness.AlthoughIhaven'tgoneintoverymuchdetailabouttheplot,thereisn'tmuchmoretotell,justatrue-to-lifestoryoffamilytensionsthatareprobablyall-too-realandcouldbegoingontodayinanyhomeinyourneighborhood.OnceagainSarnoproveshecanmakeanintelligent,erotic,respectablefilmthatdeservesitsre-release.TheprintonDVDseemstobefromseveralsources--thefontofthesubtitlesisdifferentinsomescenesthaninothers--andtheprintisdamagedandchoppyinspots,butagainthisistheonlyversionknowntoexist,sowemustrelishthisdiamond-in-the-roughthatonlySarnocouldhavecut.



