Pierre Bachelet and Hervé Roy - Emmanuelle (1974) lyrics

Movie: Emmanuelle
Release date: December 3, 1974 (USA)

Emmanuelle is a 1974 French drama film directed by Just Jaeckin. It is the first installment in a series of French softcore pornography films based on the novel Emmanuelle. The film stars Sylvia Kristel in the title role about a woman who takes a trip to Bangkok to enhance her sexual experience. The film was former photographer Just Jaeckin's debut feature film and was shot on location in Thailand and in France between 1973 and 1974.

Emmanuelle was received negatively by critics on its initial release and with a more mixed reception years later. On its initial release in France, it was one of the highest-grossing French films, making it the first X-rated film released by the company. The film was popular in Europe, the United States, and Asia and was followed in 1975 by Emmanuelle, The Joys of a Woman. Several other films influenced by Emmanuelle were released including the Italian series Black Emanuelle.

Emmanuelle flies to Bangkok to meet her diplomat husband Jean. He asks her if she had any other lovers while she was in Paris; she replies that she has not. After taking a nude swim, Emmanuelle is approached by Marie-Ange, a pretty young girl. Marie-Ange later visits Emmanuelle, finds her sleeping and takes advantage of the situation to feel her body. Emmanuelle wakes up and they go outside where Marie-Ange asks her if she has any photos of herself and Jean having sex. After Emmanuelle replies she does not, Marie-Ange takes a French magazine with a photo of the actor Paul Newman and begins to masturbate in front of her. Emmanuelle confesses to Marie-Ange that while she did not cheat on her husband in Paris, she did have sex with two strangers on the flight over to Bangkok. Emmanuelle begins to masturbate as she recounts the tryst. At night, she tells Jean about Marie-Ange's lack of shame, which leads to Jean encouraging her to pursue the friendship.

The next day at a party, Marie-Ange introduces Emmanuelle to one of her lovers, an older man named Mario. Emmanuelle then sees Bee, a French archaeologist that is outside of most of the expatriate circles. She strikes up a private conversation with Bee and hands her a bracelet. After Emmanuelle's insistence, Bee accepts to meet her at the Watsai klong. However, once they are there, Bee seems uninterested. She attempts to return the bracelet but Emmanuelle refuses to take it back. Undeterred, Emmanuelle gets on Bee's jeep as she is about to leave for a dig site. Meanwhile, Jean is angry that Emmanuelle has left without informing him and suspects that her squash partner Ariane is behind it. Ariane does not know, and says that all she has to offer is consolation sex. After a horseback ride, Emmanuelle and Bee reach a waterfall site where they take a bath. At the dig site, Emmanuelle flirts with Bee while she is working. The two have sex, but afterward, Bee asks Emmanuelle to leave. Emmanuelle returns home in tears, feeling humiliated. Jean tries to comfort her and suggests that she should take another lover.

The next day Emmanuelle and Ariane attempt to play squash but have an argument. Ariane seems jealous of Bee, as she had hoped to be Emmanuelle's first female lover. On the other side, Emmanuelle is displeased at Ariane for having sex with Jean. Frustrated, Emmanuelle decides to meet with Mario, stating that at his age, making love becomes so difficult that any man capable of it must be an artist. At dinner, Mario tells Emmanuelle that monogamy will soon die out and that she must learn to let lust, rather than guilt or reason, guide her when it comes to sex. This will lead her to greater levels of pleasure. To instill this lesson, Mario takes her to an opium den, where she is raped by one of the denizens while he watches. Mario then takes Emmanuelle to a boxing ring, where he talks two young men into fighting each other for the right to have sex with her. Mario tells Emmanuelle to choose one of the men as her favorite. After the match, her chosen champion prevails. Aroused by his willingness to fight for her, she licks the sweat on his forehead and allows him to have sex with her.

Later, Emmanuelle is awakened by Mario, who tells her to change into a dress with a zipper down the back, allowing him to strip her instantly for her next sexual encounter. Emmanuelle protests that she is tired and asks Mario if he will ever have sex with her. Mario replies that he is waiting for the "next Emmanuelle". The film ends with Emmanuelle sitting at a mirror and applying makeup, hoping that, by following Mario's instructions, she will reach the higher levels of pleasure that he has promised.