Eager and beautiful young innocent Linda (sweetly played with charming naiveté by the lovely Montserrat Prous) comes to the big city seeking fun and excitement. Linda soon finds herself caught up in a hedonistic fast lane lifestyle of sex and drugs that threatens to completely consume her. Meanwhile, Linda keeps a secret diary of her tawdry exploits.
Director Jess Franco, who also co-wrote the grimly serious and hard-hitting script with Elisabeth Ledu de Nesle, presents a fascinatingly sordid exploration of the seamy underbelly of the swinging 70's sexual revolution that warns against the potential dangers of libertine permissiveness without ever getting too preachy or moralistic about it. Of course, Franco also delivers a plethora of yummy female nudity and his trademark scorching lesbian couplings, but it's his exceptionally focused and unwavering direction along with his stark and unflinching depiction of the doomed protagonist's increasing alienation which in turn gives this picture a strong extra dramatic punch. This film further benefits from a bevy of luscious ladies: Anne Libert as worldly mentor Countess Anna de Monterey, Jacqueline Laurent as the inquisitive Rosa, and Kali Hansa as uninhibited stripper Maria Toledano. Franco regular Howard Vernon does fine work as a wannabe helpful doctor while Franco acquits himself well in a decent-sized part as a police inspector. Gerard Brisseau's bright cinematography provides a handsome and sunny look. The throbbing prog-rock score by Vladimir Cosma and Jean-Bernard Raiteux hits the get-down groovy spot. Essential viewing for Franco fans.
Director Jess Franco, who also co-wrote the grimly serious and hard-hitting script with Elisabeth Ledu de Nesle, presents a fascinatingly sordid exploration of the seamy underbelly of the swinging 70's sexual revolution that warns against the potential dangers of libertine permissiveness without ever getting too preachy or moralistic about it. Of course, Franco also delivers a plethora of yummy female nudity and his trademark scorching lesbian couplings, but it's his exceptionally focused and unwavering direction along with his stark and unflinching depiction of the doomed protagonist's increasing alienation which in turn gives this picture a strong extra dramatic punch. This film further benefits from a bevy of luscious ladies: Anne Libert as worldly mentor Countess Anna de Monterey, Jacqueline Laurent as the inquisitive Rosa, and Kali Hansa as uninhibited stripper Maria Toledano. Franco regular Howard Vernon does fine work as a wannabe helpful doctor while Franco acquits himself well in a decent-sized part as a police inspector. Gerard Brisseau's bright cinematography provides a handsome and sunny look. The throbbing prog-rock score by Vladimir Cosma and Jean-Bernard Raiteux hits the get-down groovy spot. Essential viewing for Franco fans.