Cinematic Penises
The last two films that we watched here at Björnslottet were
- Mrs. Henderson Presents (directed by Stephen Frears; official site; Wikipedia on)
- Black Book (directed by Paul Verhoeven; official site for "Zwartboek" {english option available}; Wikipedia on)
One thing that that two films had in common, in addition to both being seen here recently, is that they both had scenes featuring penises. Hooray!
In "Black Book" it was just one penis, creating a naturalistic effect–something Verhoeven seems more inclined to do in his Dutch films. In "Mrs. Henderson Presents", there was a small ensemble of penises that made for a nice comic effect in the dramatic development.
Were they gratuitous scenes or was there artistic merit? What a ridiculous distinction. They were there, they were part of the story. Obviously both films could have been made without, and they would have been different films. Both directors chose to include the scenes, and I applaud the choice.
Was there a prurient aspect? I hope so. There certainly was for me, largely because we get to see so few penises in nonpornographic films. Not to mention that I rather like appeals to the prurient interests, and I'd like to see more of it. Until we do, all expansive flashes of flesh or glimpses of genitalia, buttocks, or breasts will pique the interest of the heavy-breathers in all of us. Perhaps it's for the best, since it can perk up some otherwise tediously uninspired narratives.
Both movies, by the way, were engaging and told very good stories, and the casts turned in very good performances. In particular, I thought Verhoeven's screenplay was outstanding; I wanted to mention it since he got half the screenwriting credit.