«Emmanuelle» (2024)

 Mélodie d'amour chante le coeur d'Emmanuelle

 

There are films which will hardly impress the modern viewer, but they are very important in the history of the cinema. One of such films is the very first Emmanuelle by Just Jaeckin, which even got X-rating in the initial American release. Nowadays, this film is suitable for a kid, who graduated from the first grade in the elementary school.

There were numerous sequels and rip-offs, but most of them are not even worthy of googling. What about a remake? Not even one until 2024. How can you reshoot a film from an age, when the Sexual Revolution just started, and people were much more impressionable. Sounds funny, isn’t it? I think so too, but I have decided to satisfy my curiosity. Was it worth it?

No, absolutely not. The author completely lost the spirit of the original novel. The novel, if you are oversimplifying it, was about a woman who is discovering her sexuality in the Orient (Thailand). This time it’s about a woman who comes to Hong Kong to check the luxury hotel and who just gets laid by some irrelevant persons. Sounds interesting or tempting? Absolutely not.

What about beautiful scenery? The original «Emmanuelle» movies always took you for a ride in some beautiful parts of the world (Thailand, Hong Kong, Seychelles, Brazil). This time we see only the lobby and the rooms of the luxury hotels and some generic streets and cafes. Yes, you could watch beautiful landscapes on YouTube, but if you want to remake a film, at least take something good from the original (it’s beauty).  

Actress? Silvia Kristel wasn’t a bombshell, but she captured the childish naivete and innocence of Emmanuelle, who becomes a clay in the hands of her husband Jean and Mario and turned into a devotee of free love. Noemie Merlant doesn’t radiate anything, and all her scenes only make you yawn from boredom. I think Naomi Watts would have been better Emmanuelle; she got much more spark.

Sex? Of course, modern viewer have seen everything in the high school, but nothing beats the sensitivity of the first four Emmanuelle films. In this film sex is boring and mechanical and it feels like almost real sex in night club’s bathroom. We want to watch these films for some escapism, and we need some good music for it, which is also absent in the film. Additionally, there is no playfulness in it and the film tries to present its story in serious way or maybe the director hasn’t realized what kind of story she wanted to give.

The tagline for original «Emmanuelle» was «X was never like this». It perfectly captured the spirit of the film, which was, despite its adult film rating, a playful and beautiful story without excess on physiology, and you could watch with your girlfriend. The new «Emmanuelle» failed in everything, and you could watch it with your girlfriend only in one case - if you are both suffering from insomnia.

Better check out «Supersex» - a funny Netflix-series about Rocco Siffredi.