Diary of a Nymphomaniac (2008)

That was an excellent one.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

This really belongs on the Lifetime Movie Network or someplace. Belen Fabra is the 27-year-old Valere whose only real friend is her withered grandmother, Geraldine Chaplin. At fifteen Valere has sex for the first time. She feels there's something going on but it leaves her empty. Curiosity leads her into the byways of sex. She falls in love with Jaime finally, who seems to adore her. Coincidentally, if you're finally going to love a man for the first time in your life and you're now in your twenties and want to settle down and have children and build a home (whatever that means), Jaime is your kind of guy. He's filthy rich. He drives a Jaguar.But it wasn't long after Valere yielded her virginity and began writing in her diary about how she really need love, that I could see where the movie was headed. After fruitlessly banging dozens of guys of varying temperaments and races and quirks, she finds Jaime and everything seems to be going along swimmingly. The future is bright.But we experienced movie viewers know that in a movie like this, tragedy is just around the corner. Alright, Jaime has a slight problem with premature ejaculation -- if two minutes is "premature" -- but he showers her with flowers and diamonds, and he moves her into an expensive new flat overlooking Barcelona and the Med beyond.Jaime is too perfect. So what's wrong with Jaime? He's not gay (although he may be bisexual for all we know). Is he a drug dealer? A mob member? Does he have a history of fraud? There has to be SOMETHING wrong with Jaime because that's the kind of movie this is! I won't reveal Jaime's secret.Anyway, Valere's search for the cosmos takes her into a high-end brothel where she meets yet more flawed men. Finally, after reviewing the serial tragedies of her life, she comes to the realization that true happiness lies in self acceptance. In Valere's case, this means living for the moment with sex as your most immediate and available instrument. The fact that this is where she started lies unaddressed. She marches off bravely into the rain, a big smile on her face, triumphant music swelling in the background.As an erotic movie, and choosing comparisons with almost identical plots, this falls somewhere between "Emmanuel" (which was funny) and "Bel de Jour" (which was pornography with class). Lots of nudity, none of it vulgar, and lots of simulated sex, ditto.It's all about a woman's search for self actualization through the achievement of perfect orgasms, physical and spiritual. My, how things have changed. Why, when I was a young feller, sparking a gal, I was the one doing the pursuing. Why, I remember having to walk one hundred and fifty miles each way through the snow to visit a gal -- barefoot! We young lads was always met at the door by the gal's father, who wanted to know, right off the bat, if our intentions towards his daughter was honorable. I got so tired of saying, "Yes, sir," that once, feeling real cheeky, I said, "Absolutely not." That's how I got this scar. No, no. The one down here by the Krause end bulbs.Overall, what the movie has is an abundance of Belen Fabra's not easily dismissible and nicely assembled nude figure. Other than that, it's a pretty tiresome bore. When Valere is making love with Jaime, she kept checking the clock to see how much longer the act would take. I found myself doing the same thing. I believe I know how Valere's physical being ends. Drawing on the logic of the plot, she finally achieves the most exquisite possible orgasm and, having nothing left to search for, she deliquesces, turns into a vapor, and vanishes into the ether.

First of all, I was drawn by the topic. Though it is common, European art movies are known to bring out the emotions really well.Initially, the movie went nowhere but after a while, it picked up pace and the Love, Marriage, Sex, Fight, Infidelity are all brushed through pretty quick. Though it is quick, it makes a point on the emotions of the female lead very well, the thoughts, expressions, disgust, disappointment are all captured really well. There is enough nudity to be rated mature. But definitely shown enough to emphasize the sexual desires of the character. It is titillating to an extent..She joins a brothel later and thoroughly enjoys the sex and experience with an open mind. Though dejected later because her love for a client fails and realizes there isn't guy who loves her truly, she finally accepts her desires, emotions, quits the prostitution and goes on with her life. I liked this for the subject being presented in a very good way and explores the human fantasies and desires tastefully. It is a must watch for Independent film fans and art film fans. It is not a commercial movie material for sure.

After watching Luna's "Yo puta" ("I, Whore") some years ago, "Diario de una ninfómana" first attracted me from its title and I thought I would find a similar movie in some way, i.e. intimate sex confessions told in first person by a woman, with some air of indie movie and an average cast with some highlighted appearance (Daryl Hanna in Yo Puta, Geraldine Chaplin in this movie). Never could be so wrong! Despite the entertaining and well done strange storytelling in Yo Puta combining fiction and documentary, "Diario de una ninfómana" is just a plain story with a weak script and less than horrible acting. At the first 2 minutes you perceive the movie will not be good. As usual when a famous actor takes part in a bad movie, the star does not bright (look at Al Pacino's 88 minutes!). Geraldine Chaplin looks very weak here.But the outstanding moments in the film (a film based on nude scenes to make some noise on the scene and get some nympho-intrigued people to the theaters) certainly are those of the astonishingly pathetic acting from Leo Sbaraglia. The Argentinian does it so bad that I will keep a copy of the movie just to show my friends the worst acting ever seen in the film industry. His dramatic part of a crazy bipolar husband will make you laugh a lot!

Diary of a Sex Addict is a tale of a nymph and her sordid past. To some, it is a soft core erotica, while to the rest it might just be an European art-house movie with sex as the selling point. Christian Molina has done a great job in churning the movie based on the best selling novel. However, sex is not everyone's addiction.The story begins with Valere (Belen Fabra), a university graduate who holds a well paid job, indulges in sex. Confessing to her grandma on her sexual desire for any man she met, she learned a valuable lesson from her grandma on searching for the path she wants in her life. She met Jaime, a young manager, who showers her with money and apartment. As their relationship develops, Jaime turns out to be a man who sees Valere as a morally loose woman. Out of job and heavily in debt, she choose prostitution, where it not only gave her a source of income, but also satisfy her thirst for lust.The 95min drama promises loads of steamy erotica, but it did not cover much on Valere's sordid past, and how she bravely faced her new future. The main focus is on Valere's various sexual encounter, and how sex lead to various changes in her love life, such as boyfriend unable to satisfy her constant demand and her sexual behavior. Issues on Valera's sexual life and needs can be easily understood, without much guessing needed, which one do not need to think much to watch Diary. However, it can be dull and draggy at some point. Diary can be easily compared with Lie With Me (2005), where it also depicts a young lady's sexual encounter with her lover.One do not need to think too much to enjoy the show. The simple and easy direct point with various steamy sex scenes can be easily understood. The movie is a good choice to spice up a boring afternoon if one wants something that can arouse their senses.