Lilian (La Virgen Pervertida) (1984)
*** (out of 4)
This Jess Franco film actually become a huge hit and somewhat historical in his country of Spain. While filming this movie Spain finally removed their no porn policy so Franco went and shot some hardcore scenes making this the countries first (legal) porno. To call this a porno is pretty unfair and takes away from the film because the added scenes are really just there to extend the already there sex scenes. Lilian (Katja Bienert) is found in the desert, near death but when she awakens she tells her savior (Robert Foster) of the hell house she escaped from. She was being held captive by a couple (Emilio Linder, Lina Romay) who ran a brothel and forced her into various sexual acts. In the end, this film is basically about child abuse and the label of being the first Spanish porno is probably going to keep most people away from watching it, which is a shame. I personally wouldn't object to an edited version with the hardcore scenes removed because the film is very strong in its technical style as well as its storytelling. The cinematography is top notch, the music score by Pablo Villa is excellent and Franco wonderfully captures that dreamlike nature that only he can build. This was my first time seeing 17-year-old Katja Bienert and she was very good in the role, perfectly capturing the innocence of her character and the eventual innocence lost.
