MIRANDA

(Arrow Films DVD Region 2)

Tinto Brass produced his own unique brand of erotica consistently through the eighties and nineties. Miranda is a representative example of the Brass style, and the story is defiantly slight: Miranda (Serena Grandi) runs a tavern in a small village, somewhere in post war Italy, and juggles an assortment of lovers: a rich politician, a passing American G.I., and a local gigolo, while all the time leading on and teasing the waiter she employs. Simple enough stuff. But Brass makes this throwaway plot interesting with a succession of erotic moments, and a surprisingly strong level of characterisation. Grandi in particular is wonderful in the title role, having the right level of smouldering sexuality, playfulness and physical beauty to carry off the role of a woman who attracts men in droves. Anybody who had dismissed her as simply another busty bimbo starlet might have to think again after seeing this film, where she reveals a natural acting talent to match her physical attractions.

Brass gives full reign to his own fixations in the film. A kindred spirit of Pasolini (during his Decameron phase) and Russ Meyer, Brass delights in presenting sex in an earthy, unromantic manner. Not for him the soft focus approach; instead, the film has highly voluptuous women (lovers of skinny women might want to avoid this movie...), hairy men, and sex that is clumsy, sweaty, frantic... and often takes place outdoors. He delights in crotch close-ups (male and female), fetishises breasts and buttocks, and has a gleeful fascination with hosiery and lingerie. While not as fevered as his Snack Bar Budapest (which is the ultimate "up-skirt" film!), Miranda remains a knicker-lover's delight. Brass also includes numerous toilet scenes, his characters cheerfully and unashamedly pissing and shitting (though not graphically) while carrying on conversations. Yet despite all this, the film is startlingly beautiful to look at, and there are moments that seem almost poetic in their composition.

This DVD of Miranda - blessedly uncut - contains an interview with Tinto Brass which also appears on other Brass films from Arrow, and the movie trailer. Sadly, the striking VHS sleeve has been badly rejigged, with a provocative shot of Grandi made to look like a poor quality photocopy. A shame.

Otherwise, this film stands head and shoulders above more or less every other 'erotic' film currently available outside of sex shops in the UK. And after all, how can anyone resist a movie containing the line "I admire the way fish make love"?

DAVID FLINT

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