I never had a chance to watch Kinski much, but I think what he had given to us with 'Aguirre - The Wrath of God', 'Woyzeck', 'Fitzcarraldo', 'Nosferatu' and 'Cobra Verde' is something that makes him matchless. His cadaver looks may haunt any mainstream viewer for weeks together. Now, I praise Kinski for his artistic abilities and menacing performance, but I never intended to see him in this trash called 'Les Fruits de la Passion'. I think that the frequent run-ins with director Werner Herzog spoiled Kinski's career. Herzog knew to redeem Kinski's talent, while the other directors didn't. Shuji Terayama tries to copy Pauline Reage's erotic fantasy novel called 'The Story of O', but has needlessly added his own style and symbolism for the sake of making this soft core porn film a piece of art. Direction wise this is an okay flick but mistreats the audience with lame sequences that either don't mean much or are entirely awry.
The film begins with a wealthy western Sir Stephen (Klaus Kinski), who comes to Shanghai with his mistress (or lover?) 'O' (Isabelle Illiers). Sir Stephen is an aging businessman, who has an insatiable hunger for sex. Since he himself is engaged physically with numerous women, he wants 'O' to serve herself at a local Chinese brothel to strange customers. The brothel owner 'Madam' (Pîtâ) is a transvestite or at least this appears the way she dresses herself and speaks with the prostitutes. Sir Stephen wants to test 'O''s love for him by watching her make love with several intolerable men. Someone is a butcher who reeks blood while the other wants to make love cuckooing like a bird! Sir Stephen hopes that 'O' will completely surrender herself to make her partner (Sir Stephen) happy. But you see, there is a condition here. Sir Stephen thinks that 'O' will only physically belong to some man at a point of time, but will mentally remain involved with him every time.
After testing 'O' with several men, Sir Stephen decides to retest 'O' and makes love right before her eyes with his another french girlfriend Nathalie (Arielle Dombasle) while 'O' is leashed in chains! While Sir Stephen is engaged in sick games, the peasants and labors are uniting for a revolution. Unfortunately, Sir Stephen goes in the bad books of the revolutionaries, when he decides not to aid the revolution. While Sir Stephen feels himself torn between Nathalie and 'O', the kindhearted 'O' finds solace in the arms of a young Chinese revolutionary, who secretly loves her. The film ends with Nathalie leaving Sir Stephen and heading to Europe and 'O' fainting when a fortune-teller tells that Sir Stephen killed the very revolutionary who made her feel true love and was trying to kill himself when he was fortunately saved. The fortune-teller hands 'O' a note that says 'She is free to go wherever she wants.'
While the film teems with heavy symbolism and vivid imagery, some of the sequences are hard to perceive. For instance, there is a story associated with almost every prostitute of the brothel. Also, Shuji Terayama must have been nuts to show the lovers as fathers as in one of the scenes we see baby O's father magically transforming to Sir Stephen who encircles (and thus limits) her and walks out. In another scene a prostitute dominates his client with lashes. Soon we see him transforming into prostitute's own father. Then there is a drowned piano and floating dead bird which are uselessly and forcibly included. This was rather an unnecessary film that came in 1981. Shuji Terayama could have excelled had he invested into horror, which was at its zenith during the early 80s. Kinski surely degrades himself posing his tuberculous body but is effective as an actor. Illiers has one of the most innocent faces I've ever come across while Dombasle looks like a failed-actress-clung-to-a-millionaire. Personally I don't think Kinski's chemistry works out as good with the other directors as it works with Werner Herzog. So this berated film of a berated actor fetches 4 on 10. Once again Kinski proved that he didn't mind selling himself 'For A Few Dollars More'.
The film begins with a wealthy western Sir Stephen (Klaus Kinski), who comes to Shanghai with his mistress (or lover?) 'O' (Isabelle Illiers). Sir Stephen is an aging businessman, who has an insatiable hunger for sex. Since he himself is engaged physically with numerous women, he wants 'O' to serve herself at a local Chinese brothel to strange customers. The brothel owner 'Madam' (Pîtâ) is a transvestite or at least this appears the way she dresses herself and speaks with the prostitutes. Sir Stephen wants to test 'O''s love for him by watching her make love with several intolerable men. Someone is a butcher who reeks blood while the other wants to make love cuckooing like a bird! Sir Stephen hopes that 'O' will completely surrender herself to make her partner (Sir Stephen) happy. But you see, there is a condition here. Sir Stephen thinks that 'O' will only physically belong to some man at a point of time, but will mentally remain involved with him every time.
After testing 'O' with several men, Sir Stephen decides to retest 'O' and makes love right before her eyes with his another french girlfriend Nathalie (Arielle Dombasle) while 'O' is leashed in chains! While Sir Stephen is engaged in sick games, the peasants and labors are uniting for a revolution. Unfortunately, Sir Stephen goes in the bad books of the revolutionaries, when he decides not to aid the revolution. While Sir Stephen feels himself torn between Nathalie and 'O', the kindhearted 'O' finds solace in the arms of a young Chinese revolutionary, who secretly loves her. The film ends with Nathalie leaving Sir Stephen and heading to Europe and 'O' fainting when a fortune-teller tells that Sir Stephen killed the very revolutionary who made her feel true love and was trying to kill himself when he was fortunately saved. The fortune-teller hands 'O' a note that says 'She is free to go wherever she wants.'
While the film teems with heavy symbolism and vivid imagery, some of the sequences are hard to perceive. For instance, there is a story associated with almost every prostitute of the brothel. Also, Shuji Terayama must have been nuts to show the lovers as fathers as in one of the scenes we see baby O's father magically transforming to Sir Stephen who encircles (and thus limits) her and walks out. In another scene a prostitute dominates his client with lashes. Soon we see him transforming into prostitute's own father. Then there is a drowned piano and floating dead bird which are uselessly and forcibly included. This was rather an unnecessary film that came in 1981. Shuji Terayama could have excelled had he invested into horror, which was at its zenith during the early 80s. Kinski surely degrades himself posing his tuberculous body but is effective as an actor. Illiers has one of the most innocent faces I've ever come across while Dombasle looks like a failed-actress-clung-to-a-millionaire. Personally I don't think Kinski's chemistry works out as good with the other directors as it works with Werner Herzog. So this berated film of a berated actor fetches 4 on 10. Once again Kinski proved that he didn't mind selling himself 'For A Few Dollars More'.