Eugénie de Franval (Sade, 1800) and Eugenie de Sade (Jesus Franco, 1970)

This is sort of a Giftmas Rundown post since I got Jesus Franco's 1970 legfest from an unwitting family member (via a giftcard). Eugenie de Sade is a retelling of the Marquis de Sade's novella Eugénie de Franval, part of the original The Crimes of Love collection (currently available as part of Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom and Other Writings here Amazon/Amazon UK/Chapters). I was interested in the film after reading Empress Kate's review - I am typically wary of Franco, and always wary of stories that claim to be Sade influenced. With my Franco fears placed in check I decided I could care less about the Sadean aspect since the film got such high praise.

Now, I am no film critic, but I will tell you it is beautifully shot. A lot of the greatness is just looking at the imagery. Also, if you have a perfectly sensible leg fixation, this is a must see as Soledad Miranda is either in long shirts, or short skirts slit to the waist through most of the film. Lastly, I really loved the music. Well, most of it. Some of the dubbing and sound editing are flaky. My DVD is from Blue Underground, if that means anything to the real cinephiles out there.


Some spoilers here...

As far as the Sadean element goes, it appears that Franco out-Saded l'Divine Marquis. Sade's story is that of l'Comte de Franval who raises his daughter, Eugénie, to be a libertine. This disturbs his wife and mother-in-law. Franval tries to implicate his wife in scandal by having his friend, Valmont, cuckold him. This friend falls for Eugénie instead and forms an intrigue with the wife. Eventually Valmont is murdered, and Franval and Eugénie plot to kill the wife. Perfectly Sadean, until the end... Madame Franval is killed by her daughter, but Eugénie feels so terrible about it that she dies on the spot. Franval learns of his wife's death and repents his sins, then he kills himself. What?

In Franco's story, Franval is known as Albert Radeck, and he and Eugenie have the same relationship, sans the mother whom Radeck killed after Eugenie's birth. The two plot murders to commit together. Eugenie is sent to seduce and destroy a young man, but falls in love with him. Maddened by her treason, Radeck kills the young man and attempts to kill Eugenie, but dies himself. That is the Sade I know.

Since this story is from The Crimes of Love it is understandably odd from the Sadean standpoint. These stories were moralistic in tone, as opposed to earlier works. There is no description of sex or even of bodies. It is a PG-13 kind of book. It is possible that Sade, who was now out of prison and wanted to stay out, began writing in a more acceptable tone. Unfortunately, Napoleon Bonaparte had a real hard-on for Sade, calling Justine (1791) "the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." Napoleon had Sade imprisoned again in 1801.

So, in an odd turn of events, I would recommend the movie before the book. If you want a moralistic Sade, I would recommend Oxtiern, The Misfortunes of Libertinage, the short story. Oxtiern is a better villain, and the result is less goody-two-shoes.