Monamour (2005)

• Release Date: August 31st,
• 2010 MSRP: $24.95
• Region 1, NTSC
• Widescreen, 1.85:1 aspect ratio
• Year: 2005
• Italian with English Subtitles
• Directed by: Tinto Brass

Tinto Brass has made quite a name for himself in Italian cinema. As I said in my previous reviews of his films he's taken great leaps between the different areas of art and exploitation. Towards the 90's his films fell into the crest of mainly being pure erotic pieces. Monamour is the perfect example of the territory in which his films have entered. The film fallows a newly wed woman named Marta. When Marta starts to get bored with her husband, Dario, she begins to write about it in her diary. One day she meets a mysterious man, Leon in a museum, and from there on an affair begins. Now, the film plays out too much like a really badly written Soap Opera extended to 98 minutes with gratuitous sex scenes. While I very much enjoy sex scenes, it doesn't make a movie. Almost the entire third act is one long threesome sex scene. After seeing a lot of Tinto's earlier stuff, I was very much disappointed with this. The artistic side of his films have really started to float away; but then again I haven't seen much of his recent work. Though the film is mainly a softcore porno, not all of the art has disappeared. The film still is shot and lit beautifully.


One scene that seems to stand out is one in a massage parlor (as pictured above) where everything in the frame has a silver, chrome tint. The film is beautifully shot, and one thing I am still confused slightly about is if it really was softcore or not. This is really the first time I've seen someone whip out their erect penis in a softcore film. Though if it were hardcore, I'd imagine cumshots and penetration would follow, given that a lot of the sex did look hilariously simulated (e.g. blowjob at a party early in the film).


The relationships between the characters are half developed int he movie. From the beginning, we don't really like anybody. Marta's constantly whining, keeping to herself expecting Dario to know what's missing in their sex life, expecting him to read her mind. Dario is an ignorant prick, judging by when she says that she was raped to try to catch his attention, he acts like he doesn't give a damn. As for Leon, we barely see him. I get the sense that maybe Leon was supposed to be a badass, but when he ends up showing up an hour late for a date with Marta, we get the sense he too is an asshole. The only character remotely interesting is the sex addicted friend of Marta; now why couldn't we see a movie about her?


Overall, Monamour is not a good movie. If you're looking for a diverse film like Tinto's earlier work, look elsewhere. This is the laziest effort of Tinto Brass. I still look forward to more of Tinto's work though this was a bit disappointing. The trailer for kick the cock caught my interest, the look of the clips shown on the Cult Epics website alone has me ready to give it watch. Anyway, 4/10, if you're interested in Monamour, pick it up at CultEpics.com.

Special Features Include:

• The Making of Monamour
• Trailers
• Sneak Peak of Kick The Cock