On paper, a contemporary feminist spin on “Emmanuelle” sounds like a zesty idea. An ostensible portrait of liberated female sexuality firmly ossified in patriarchal politics, Just Jaeckin’s 1974 softcore smash is the kind of cultural touchstone so emblematic of its era that the very act of remaking it qualifies as a symbolic statement of sorts. […]

Opening up this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival, Audrey Diwan’s “Emmanuelle” marks an unexpected follow-up to her Golden Lion winner “Happening” – at least on paper, anyway. If anything, the filmmaker followed a similar line, using a literary adaptation to emphasize sensorial experience, in this case the evasive quest for physical pleasure. “The project was […]

This year’s Venice Film Festival lineup was not only the starriest in recent history, it was also the steamiest. Literally and figuratively. Aside from the brutal heatwave that plagued festivalgoers, the roster was filled with sexually charged movies, ranging from “Babygirl,” starring Nicole Kidman, to Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” with Daniel Craig. Elsewhere in the festival […]