Le Marquis de la Croix PAL

Amy Hesketh vision of torture is clear and unedited. As a period piece the flaver is uneven with the shift in centuries.

This is a take off of a Marquis de Sade theme so there is an abundance of on screen violence and nudity. The dialogue is rather sparse as about half of the movie seems to be taken up with the main,evil character taking notes as to whether or not he is torturing the female victim correctly. There is a cute twist at the end but it is obvious that this is going to happen. This is a South American production which is filmed at very acceptabe standards although the dialogue switches back and forth, at times, from Spanish to English. The acting levels are acceptable but the film was continuously interetrupted by the poor bad guy who had to keep returning to his notebook, presumably to record his scientific thoughts about his efforts to toture the victim to death. An odd movie, not really exploitation, because it seems that the female director is actually a student of S/M themes and has done other films about the same subject manner. If you are looking for an a thrilling s/m experience this really dosen't fit the bill.

Interesting movie. Completely satisfied with the purchase of this movie.

In the aftermath of their inquisitional epic: "Maleficarum" - Bolivian based fetish film-makers Jac Avila and Amy Hesketh returned to the same basement 'dungeon' setting (actually, a restaurant!) and cranked out another piece of crazed, yet artful, BDSM cinema: "Le Marquis de la Croix". Whereas "Maleficarum" was based on the horrendous medieval witch hunts in South America - 'Le Marquis..' is ostensibly set in 18th Century France and based on the writings/life of the infamous Marquis DeSade as he was moldering away in prison in later life. In "Maleficarum" actress/producer/director Amy Hesketh was pretty much center stage and took the brunt of the sadistic abuse that the film depicted - while her 'friend' (portrayed by actress Mila Joya) was a bit on the sidelines - a newcomer to the film world. Apparently, though, Mila was a 'quick-study' and not too put off by the harsh treatment and nudity required by Hesketh's visions - and in "Le Marquis de la Croix" she portrays the singular suffering personage that falls into the clutches of DeSade - who is ably acted by Jac Avila. The 'plot' of the film is very simplistic - beginning initially in the present day - a tourist (played by Amy H.) drops into a museum that depicts ancient torture instruments and as the 'tour guide' gives his spiel the movie flashes back to the time when the "Marquis" inhabited the space. The majority of the film is involved with the story of a beautiful young gypsy girl (Mila) who has been sentenced to the guillotine - but is 'purchased' by the debauched, incarcerated, nobleman - who offers to commute her sentence of beheading IF she puts herself into his hands. While this might have seemed like a reprieve of sorts - the convicted girl rapidly discovers that the relatively qwik death offered by 'the blade' may be preferable to what the twisted Marquis has in mind for her! She is chained to the wall, flogged, and stripped of her clothing as the Marquis begins a drawn-out cat and mouse sort of game of increasingly cruel torments. The duration of the picture is devoted to chronicling the various tortures that the poor girl endures, interspersed with a few brief scenes of the Marquis waxing philosophical and writing in his journal. Mila Joya is a real trouper - as she is totally naked throughout, experiencing a panoply of painful indignities that include: whipping, strappado, stretching on the rack, and, ultimately, a particularly harsh crucifixion! This drawn out ode to suffering - perpetuated on a helpless naked woman - could easily slide into the morass of misogynistic squalor - BUT - In the hands of FEMALE Director Hesketh it somehow manages to achieve a certain artfulness that redeems it. While Hesketh (a self admitted fan of BDSM and the Marquis DeSade) doesn't 'hold back' in the torments that she commits to film - she also does not inject much sex into the mix in this feature. There is a brief scene near the beginning of the 'relationship' between the Marquis and his victim that alludes to some fellatio, but as the action progresses there is no further sexual involvement nor are there 'pornographic' camera angles employed. There is a 'beauty' (albeit 'bent'!) to the image of the naked girl as her body is tautly stretched in ropes and chains that lifts the subject matter into the realm approaching religious iconography. At the same time - there really is no 'message' or 'climax' to this film (such as was to be found in "Maleficarum"!) so the viewer ultimately must find satisfaction primarily in the transgressive imagery that is presented. While the imagery WAS potent - I ultimately 'knocked a star off' my rating for the film because it didn't really seem to 'go anywhere' - regardless of how visually arresting it was. It might be noted (for her fans!) that, altho Amy spent most of this film 'behind the camera' in directorial mode, she does appear in the final moments of the piece in a nice tableaux that has her tied to the torture rack, stark nekkid & screaming - she just couldn't let Mila have all the 'fun'! Technically, the 'film' is a super sharp - shot direct to video - full-screen presentation. The 'language' flips between Spanish (with sub-titles) but is mostly in English. Unfortunately, the 'sound' is a little garbled and much of what Jac Avila's character says is difficult to make out. There is actually an 'option' to add English subs to the entire film so that one can make out the words better. This is helpful because most of the philosophical 'meat' of the picture is in these ramblings by the Marquis! There are no 'out-take' or 'making of' 'extras' on this DVD-R disk - but there is a 'commentary track' with both Amy and Jac talking about the production. While perhaps not quite as satisfying as "Maleficarum" - I found 'The Marquis" to be an engrossing viewing experience w/ tons of tormented naked girl footage - definitely Adults Only fare

I got the feeling this guy did not like girls

I thought it was very erotic and true to the nature of de sade's writings. I like amy hesketh's work