Giselle (1980)

Great Film overall

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

"Giselle" is a pornochanchada (the way the 70s and 80s erotic films were called in Brasil - a literal translation would be porn comedy). But it is in some ways an atypical pornochanchada, because one can almost say that the film preaches free love. I'll try to explain this later. Let's go to the film.Giselle (Alba Valéria) returns from a long stay in Europe to Brazil. She goes to her father's farm where she'll meet also her "aunt"(?), that's married to her father. The farm is run by the caretaker Angelo (Carlo Mossy). Later on Giselle's cousin Serginho (Ricardo Faria) will arrive in the farm to join the group.Giselle is a sixteen girl who seduces everyone that crosses her way - men or women. She is sweet and full of joy and innocent in her own way. Giselle wants to take what life offers, right here, right now! Her first conquest is the caretaker Angelo (full of energy himself), and her "aunt" (Maria Lucia Dahl) is not long in following suit. And Giselle will still meet a communist militant, Ana (Monique Lafond) and Cupid and/or Eros will be busy once again. During Giselle's affair with Ana, the film becomes suddenly political! You have to see to believe it.There will be many side stories: 1) a stallion mounts a mare - this is shown in the opening of the film and it's just to wet the appetites of the viewer and the film characters, who watch together this scene. It's just an aperitif for the things to come.2) man loves woman (it may be more than one) 3) woman loves woman (good scenes) 4) man loves man (this is less usual in Brazilian films and in "Giselle" the relationship is not shown in a satirical manner).5) man loves child (it is not directly shown, but clearly hinted at) - a child is leaving a man's room pulling up the trousers, and the man stands by the door watching the child go away. I'm sure that in USA there would be a great hue and cry about this scene.6) rape.What is amazing about "Giselle" is that it adopts a very free view on sex. The film seems to say: "Take whatever comes your way - if it gives you pleasure and hurts no one, it's alright!" Anyway, the film is very good-humoured and the actors seem to be at ease in their scenes. It's as if "Giselle" were a film made by friends. Maybe it was."Giselle" must have been shot fast – the dubbing, in some scenes, leaves something to be desired, but the violence scenes were reasonably well-made (especially for Brazilian standards). It's certainly a pleasant film to watch: be it for its sex scenes - not graphic ones, mind you! -, or its "joie de vivre".

I emphasize **spoiler**, because to make my point I am giving away the ending, which I myself would not want to have known before seeing the film (the Greek subtitled release passably dubbed in English). I read what others have written, and I was well into the film before I started seeing it differently. The story involves a "family" of five individuals, who experience good times with each other, but as the film progresses we see their indulgences, failings, weakness, and even treachery. We see each of the five as human beings, likable despite their wrongdoing, and we can understand why they do the things that they do. What struck me most is that despite the family breaking up, despite the disappointments, the jealousy, and what could have been hatred, all five in the end went their own way to make a better life and left without anger or rancor for one another. There was plenty of reason for anger, contempt, hatred, and revenge, but they had a commemorative photo taken to remind themselves of the good times they once had. It quite a ways into the film before I saw that the film is not as certain others have depicted it. There is enough sex to cloud some people's interpretation (both the sex and the film itself) and even turn off those who are disturbed by such scenes, which I consider done very beautifully. Note that when their relationship is all over, Giselle speaks of the beauty lying around and Haydee responds, "Yes, indeed, the world is full of beauty if we can only see it." If only somehow most of us would be willing to put aside our criticism, our anger, our indignation, and our thoughts of vengeance and be willing to see the beauty around us.

I really don't know how to describe this movie and be clean about it. Before the opening credits, we see actual "hardcore" horse copulation. Then we get to know the family that the movie is centered around. Her dad's a child molester. The step-mom (Heidi) is an unhappily married lesbian. Giselle is, um... noticeably promiscuous and bisexual. The step-brother (Sergio) is, rather obviously, gay. The ranch hand (Angelo) swings every which way that he cares to. He seems to have sex with everyone save Giselle's father (though his dear dad did have an extended fling with him). Plus, the love of Giselle's life turns out to be a philanthropic lesbian communist physician. It is basically like an early-80s "trashy-to-the-max" soap opera (it seems like a weekday-afternoon television line-up melded with a Penthouse or Hustler magazine). There is nudity aplenty, but nothing more than stalely shot soft-core (other than the aforementioned horse "interaction"). I have only seen the American video version (Her Summer Vacation) and don't know if it was "doctored" upon its US release as quite a few other foreign films of the era have been. * (It is cut, but not rearranged further than that) ** I came across a copy of a Greek video release that actually expands on the US video release. Several scenes are extended, but the majority of what is missing from the US release relates to the male/male encounters (mainly the ranch hand and the step-son). For some reason, these scenes must qualify (then, and perhaps even more-so in the US's current political environment) as more scandalous than the lesbian scenes and/or the opening hardcore "horseplay" that entertains the family. *** The film apparently was never given an official release in any English speaking areas, as the credits are in Portugese in all versions that I have seen.

OK, this may not be the weirdest movie ever, but it was probably the one that most shocked me. It's an erotic drama from Brazil, that starts with a long text about how the fall of every major civilization was preceded by moral decadence, and family disruption.However, this is only an attempt to hide that this movie is just a porn like a hundred others, behind a social critic explanation. The film is not critical after all, and it would just please a couple of sex freaks.It has everything: incest, male homosexualism, female homosexualism, child abuse, animal sex, drugs , bondage, sadism, rape, etc. Every minute of the film gives the viewer something nastier than the minute before, and it never ends.If you're a sex freak, try to find it, you'll enjoy it. If you're not, get something else, anything else. I assure you it'll be better.