Plum Blossom (1982)

Directed by: Willem van Batenburg | 73 minutes | drama, eroticism | Actors: Frank Boogaard, Diana de Koning, Wilma de Winter, Joost Messing, Tanja Overeem, Evert van Lingen, Ivo Verlinden, Richard Wildens

A Dutch “classic” purely for the fact that it was the first serious full-length sex film, ‘Plum Blossom’ is a difficult film to review for several reasons. First, you should actually consider the movie in its genre, and second, you should see the movie in its time. As a conventional drama, the film is clearly below par. After all, ‘Plum Blossom’ spends the lion’s share of its playing time on long drawn out sex scenes and the characters next to it are hardly explored in depth and are actually not seen in any other context. Now the latter need not be an obstacle if an interesting analysis were to take place throughout the sex moments, as happens in films such as ‘Shortbus’. That film also mainly featured sex, but this sex often says something fascinating about the characters and their relationships, to which attention is indeed paid during or between the physical scenes.

In ‘Plum Blossom’ we actually get to know only one character reasonably, namely the main character Myriam (Diana de Koning), and then rather superficially. The only psychology behind her character is that she is trying to champion a sexual lifestyle that is not solely linked to monogamy. During an interesting conversation with her young lover, she reveals her simple, yet quite refreshing philosophy. Her life of free sex doesn’t necessarily come across here as sinful, though she is ultimately not very sympathetic in the way she handles the feelings of her loved ones, who are not all so adept at separating business from the realm. heart and body. In addition, it was progressive at the time to show a woman in a sex film who really enjoys sex herself and does everything of her own free will. Moreover, it is the woman who is in power here, and not the man, which gives ‘Plum Blossom’ a strong feminist tinge.

Even though the film does not qualify as a full drama due to the shortcomings in the story and characterization, the meager size, the generally poor acting performances, and the monotony, as a sex film the film is already more substantial than average due to the aforementioned content elements. After more than twenty-five years, it is difficult to determine whether the film also does what it was made for as a sex film, namely to excite and excite. Nowadays, for example, there is little room for pubic and armpit hair in sex films, so that the current viewer will have to swallow when seeing the wild vegetation in ‘Plum Blossom’. In addition, most of the positions in the film, which are often held with very long takes, are probably less exciting or shocking. Nice is the humor and creativity that is sometimes associated with the sex, such as in a darts match between three men, who have to keep their attention on the game while they are all orally satisfied by a mistress. The dialogue during the sex is also very funny, sometimes because of the wooden interpretation, but often also because of the content itself. Comparisons to trains and the various clues in bed are often hilarious.

Both original and erotic is the threesome in the pool that takes place at the end of the film. A very successful scene that has a graceful, dreamy quality and is also exciting. Production-wise, the film is mostly okay, which has to do with the professional crew from the conventional film industry. The most pleasant, at least for the current viewer, is when the lighting is a bit softer, so that you do not see every pimple and bleak piece. In this way a pleasant, somewhat soft-erotic atmosphere is created, even though everything is extensively portrayed, such as during a lesbian scene on the bed, where Myriam’s sex partner, incidentally, surprisingly enough, is completely bald in her pubic area. An exception in the movie.

In short, while the film falls short as a conventional drama, as a sex film ‘Plum Blossom’ will be above average in content and at least adequate in terms of excitement. And the unique place of ‘Plum Blossom’ in Dutch film history is beyond dispute.