LA PRISONNIÈRE
Aka: Female Prisoner, Woman in Chains. 

Josee, a beautiful young film editor, is working on a documentary that fascinates her. In the film, women who have been sexually dominated are interviewed. Each explains their gradual desire for more degradation as the abuse continues. Josee is shocked and intrigued by this and begins to desire something more from her relationship with her lover Gilbert. She meets Stan, a friend of Gilbert’s whom she discovers is an amateur photographer. One evening Stan shows Josee some of his artistic photos accidentally revealing a hidden side of his personality. One of the photos unintentionally displayed is of a young woman bound in chains. Josee is both repulsed  and captivated by the image and pressures Stan to tell her everything about it. Stan concedes he is sexually gratified from sadomasochistic imagery and invites Josee to his next photo shoot.  Josee’s curiosity soon transforms into desire as she enters a new world of sexual gratification, becoming a willing participant in this erotic game of domination. 

From the director of the classic French thriller DIABOLIQUE (1955) comes this very obscure and erotically charged masterpiece. Set in a world of unusual art and sculpture, viewers are shown several artists at work. Josee’s lover Gilbert, is a sculptor who forms his art from  clay, steel, and glass. Stan is a sculptor as well, choosing instead to use the female body for his creations. The film is an amazingly beautiful journey into the hidden desires of a woman, told with a very feminine point of view that spirals into the surreal. Strikingly photographed by Andréas Winding. Starring the beautiful Elisabeth Wiener as the sexually enlightened Josee. Also starring  Laurent Terzieff, Bernard Fresson, Dany Carrel. Written by Henri-Georges Clouzot, Monique Lange, Marcel Moussy. Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Robert Menegoz. 

(1968-France)
Slightly widescreen. In French with English subtitles.