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Cinematic Sex
1/19/2003
The Sex Film Project looks like a great idea that is long overdue. Ambitious filmaker John Cameron Mitchell plans to make a serious movies in which real, explicit sex is shown. Not a movie about sex (porn), but a movie in which sex will appear naturally as it does in real life.
For a long time now its bothered me how Hollywood always cheated us when it came to sex. Even the most realistic of films would blanch at showing their stars actually doing it. Instead they'd resort to the time-honored techniques of strategically placed bed sheets, quick cuts, or just fading the scene. Its all very distracting. As if an actor on the screen had suddenly turned to the audience and yelled: "This is a fantasy. People won't be getting naked like they do in the real world". BAM!!! And there you are, out of the movie and back in the theater with popcorn grit under your feet...
For the record, I'm not a big fan of porn. Something about it always comes across so contrived that I rarely am able to enjoy it. There have been a number of dramatic film, however, that were downright hot. Movies where I really wanted to see the actors get it on and felt jipped when I didn't.
Sex on screen is best when it is neither gratuitous nor hidden. It should flow naturally from the plot's circumstances, and seems to echo real life. I wish Mr. Mitchell the best of luck and hope he starts a trend.
1/19/2003 | Permanent Link
