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Candida Royalle's
"Eyes of Desire Part I"
Review by Lisa Ludovici
As Laura Mulvey brought to our attention in the 1970's, whenever a
woman looks with desire, she's sure to get into trouble. And in Candida
Royalle's "Eyes of Desire," Lisa is no exception. A shy photographer
on the brink of a career breakthrough and a relationship breakdown,
Lisa retreats to her friends' hillside home to reflect on her life and
the "deep longing" she has that she can't name. Lisa has plenty of time
to think since her friend, Amy, has moved in with her boyfriend Tim.
Amy and Tim's relationship apparently intensified when he bought a
set of high-powered telescopes so they could "perform" for each other.
All sorts of games of voyeurism begin when Amy obliquely invites Lisa
to watch Tim's house at 8pm that night. Reserved though she is, Lisa
can't help but take a peek at the appointed time and when she does she's
treated to a sexy show choreographed by Amy whose occasional glance
into the camera lets us know that she knows Lisa is watching. It's not
really clear why Amy wants her friend to watch. Though it's hard to
read a stare like that as anything other than a prelude to seduction
such a scene never materializes.
Lisa becomes fascinated by the telescope and finds herself drawn to
it again and again, witnessing another athletic show by a pair of unknown
neighbors. But the heat really gets turned up when Lisa discovers there
is someone living in a nearby abandoned estate and he has his telescope
trained on her.
When Lisa's lover Jaime comes for some reconciliation sex, she shows
him the telescope. He warns her not to invite observation by "putting
on any shows" herself. Ironically, their love-making becomes a show
for the neighbor, artistically edited, as all the voyeuristic scenes
in the film, by using silent, through-the-lens shots juxtaposed with
full audio, in-the-room shots to give the impression of peering through
a telescope without missing any of the action.
Lisa's curiosity over the mystery-neighbor finally wins out and leads
her into more daring realms of sexuality such as subjecting herself
to performing for him while he watches through his telescope, and later,
to go to his estate where he continues to command her. The games apparently
get dicier in "Eyes of Desire Part II," where fascination threatens
to turn to obsession.
All of this watching and being watched is not only titillating but
interesting in that it implicates the viewer. Film, especially adult
film, is the quintessential act of voyeurism. "Eyes of Desire Part I"
is layered with images of watching and being watched as well as the
crossing over from distance to intimacy.
Being part of Ms. Royalle's Femme line of adult videos, specifically
designed for women's fantasies, I was hoping for more erotic variety
in the sexual technique. There is a lot of good oral sex and a lot of
intercourse but what makes women's sexuality particularly sensual and
sumptuous are all the other little games to be played with the sensitive,
erogenous areas like the backs of shoulders, insides of thighs and the
neck. I would have perferred less intercouse and more emphais on all
of the other adventurous possibilities between a man and a woman.
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