This movie on video interested me because it's shot in India, particularly Khajuraho and Jaipur, cities I will visit myself. It's a story about an American couple who have some Indian friends. The man is impotent but that doesn't bother his girlfriend even so very much. He goes to India to work at the famous erotic sculptures of Khajuraho.She goes with him.They meet a mysterious Indian lady (a role by a well-known Indian actress who played in "Little Buddha") who makes them acquainted with the Kama Sutra. This same actress is the main figure in a Kama Sutra story that is set 1000 years earlier. There she is a courtisane at the King's court. What this story of sex and broken vows has to do with the Kama Sutra does not become clear. There are some nude scenes, a total of 10 minutes of nudity (naked breasts of 4 women and only a few seconds full frontal nudity) but filmed in a highly esthetic way, that does not become vulgar. Nevertheless it's a disappointing film.It doesn't even show much of India or these temples in Khajuraho. It's not awfully boring but leaves you with a lot of questions.
10 Reviews
Not bad for a low b movie...
emeraldkimmy9 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
...but obviously borrowing from other movies of the time it was made. I had to watch it a few times to get the basic story down, particularly the parts where the lives of Michael and Lisa intersect with the lives of a monk and a courtesan in 10th century India.
It's easy enough to see how this couple ended up there, or even together. Michael works for Lisa's brother-in-law, who happens to be Indian, and Michael, due to his problem with impotence, uses a work assignment as a way to try and get out of the relationship with Lisa, only she takes it as an opportunity for not only both of their careers but their relationship.
Michael's obsession with India, come to find out, leads him to work in the temple where a mysterious statue has been found. No one knows the origins of the statue, or even what the woman was supposed to have been. What is known is that the temple she was found in was dedicated to the gods of love, with numerous statuary and bas reliefs of erotic poses of the Kama Sutra. What is interesting to note is that her statue is in the one part of the temple that has been damaged by rain and elements, whereas the rest of it has been protected over time, which is what the other statues and bas reliefs were supposed to protect the temple from.
While Lisa is looking for fabrics for the fashion designer she works for and anguishing over ways to save her relationship with Michael, the statue disappears, utterly baffling the preservation staff as security is supposed to be tight. But just before Michael is informed of the disappearance, he sees a woman standing among the scaffolding of the temple where the statue had been.
From there, Michael and Lisa meet this mystery woman, Loni, who tells them the story of a soon-to-be-monk who, having taken a vow of celibacy, is sent by his guru, Vaisyzyana, the author of the Kama Sutra himself, to the palace of the king's courtesan to "observe but not participate in" lovemaking to see that his teachings are actually applied. He meets Lochani, whom the courtesan has raised as she was orphaned at an early age like the monk. The monk is not yet a monk but it is expected that he will become one; Lochani is not yet a courtesan but it is expected that she will become one.
Obviously problems ensued when the monk and the courtesan fell in love, and the further Michael and Lisa go into Loni's story, the more they realize they are directly involved in it.
The film making is obviously low budget, the scripting isn't great, and not all the cast is considerably talented, though the actress who plays Loni/Lochini is the exception. It takes a lot of thinking, more than one should have to do for such a small movie, to fill in plot holes. There are fun clues in scenes when you compare the ones set in the present to the ones in the past, such as the sand/limestone elephant Michael is restoring, but where this movie gets more points than other cheaply made erotica that jumped on the Kama Sutra bandwagon is in its attention to giving some pretty colorful life to the history of courtesans in 10th century India and their role in society and in the Kama Sutra itself.
There is a scene that depicts the Holi Festival as mentioned in Sir Richard F. Burton's forward to the Kama Sutra, and the characters do their best to use dialog to explain the role of a king's courtesan at that time in India's history. It's not exactly stunning dialog but it's enough to pique one's interest in the subject.
The cinematography, such as it is, actually does a decent job of capturing what intrigued people to watch movies about the sensual and mystical elements of the Kama Sutra. We see the "dance of seduction" (of course), the beauty rituals courtesans engaged in to keep themselves beautiful, the colorful saris and ornamentation worn by them, and even a little bit on how the physical acts of the Kama Sutra are performed by courtesans for the men who go to them. We see the temples, statuary and bas reliefs so commonly associated with it, even among modern day India. We see Lisa, an American from Los Angeles, dazzled by the sights and atmosphere of India as she shops.
Keep a watch for the part where Lisa, shopping by herself, is reading aloud from a large version Kama Sutra printed in English, is approached by Loni. Loni hands her another version of the Kama Sutra, the one by the Sage himself, and it is the very same popular copy found in most bookstores in the United States today.
No, this is not a cinematic achievement by any stretch of the imagination but it is a fun story with some great visual aspects. There are inconsistencies, such as the fact that we don't actually see the temple as the characters in the 10th century part of the film experience it, and the courtesan's palace as experienced 1,000 years later looks nothing like it did when the courtesan was living, but we can't expect too much from something with such a limited budget.
If you're looking for something to watch to kill time, but not expecting a lot of sexiness (or maybe just a little), this film is worth at least one viewing. If you're looking for something more than that, you might want to skip it. It's really a "to each his own" title.
It's easy enough to see how this couple ended up there, or even together. Michael works for Lisa's brother-in-law, who happens to be Indian, and Michael, due to his problem with impotence, uses a work assignment as a way to try and get out of the relationship with Lisa, only she takes it as an opportunity for not only both of their careers but their relationship.
Michael's obsession with India, come to find out, leads him to work in the temple where a mysterious statue has been found. No one knows the origins of the statue, or even what the woman was supposed to have been. What is known is that the temple she was found in was dedicated to the gods of love, with numerous statuary and bas reliefs of erotic poses of the Kama Sutra. What is interesting to note is that her statue is in the one part of the temple that has been damaged by rain and elements, whereas the rest of it has been protected over time, which is what the other statues and bas reliefs were supposed to protect the temple from.
While Lisa is looking for fabrics for the fashion designer she works for and anguishing over ways to save her relationship with Michael, the statue disappears, utterly baffling the preservation staff as security is supposed to be tight. But just before Michael is informed of the disappearance, he sees a woman standing among the scaffolding of the temple where the statue had been.
From there, Michael and Lisa meet this mystery woman, Loni, who tells them the story of a soon-to-be-monk who, having taken a vow of celibacy, is sent by his guru, Vaisyzyana, the author of the Kama Sutra himself, to the palace of the king's courtesan to "observe but not participate in" lovemaking to see that his teachings are actually applied. He meets Lochani, whom the courtesan has raised as she was orphaned at an early age like the monk. The monk is not yet a monk but it is expected that he will become one; Lochani is not yet a courtesan but it is expected that she will become one.
Obviously problems ensued when the monk and the courtesan fell in love, and the further Michael and Lisa go into Loni's story, the more they realize they are directly involved in it.
The film making is obviously low budget, the scripting isn't great, and not all the cast is considerably talented, though the actress who plays Loni/Lochini is the exception. It takes a lot of thinking, more than one should have to do for such a small movie, to fill in plot holes. There are fun clues in scenes when you compare the ones set in the present to the ones in the past, such as the sand/limestone elephant Michael is restoring, but where this movie gets more points than other cheaply made erotica that jumped on the Kama Sutra bandwagon is in its attention to giving some pretty colorful life to the history of courtesans in 10th century India and their role in society and in the Kama Sutra itself.
There is a scene that depicts the Holi Festival as mentioned in Sir Richard F. Burton's forward to the Kama Sutra, and the characters do their best to use dialog to explain the role of a king's courtesan at that time in India's history. It's not exactly stunning dialog but it's enough to pique one's interest in the subject.
The cinematography, such as it is, actually does a decent job of capturing what intrigued people to watch movies about the sensual and mystical elements of the Kama Sutra. We see the "dance of seduction" (of course), the beauty rituals courtesans engaged in to keep themselves beautiful, the colorful saris and ornamentation worn by them, and even a little bit on how the physical acts of the Kama Sutra are performed by courtesans for the men who go to them. We see the temples, statuary and bas reliefs so commonly associated with it, even among modern day India. We see Lisa, an American from Los Angeles, dazzled by the sights and atmosphere of India as she shops.
Keep a watch for the part where Lisa, shopping by herself, is reading aloud from a large version Kama Sutra printed in English, is approached by Loni. Loni hands her another version of the Kama Sutra, the one by the Sage himself, and it is the very same popular copy found in most bookstores in the United States today.
No, this is not a cinematic achievement by any stretch of the imagination but it is a fun story with some great visual aspects. There are inconsistencies, such as the fact that we don't actually see the temple as the characters in the 10th century part of the film experience it, and the courtesan's palace as experienced 1,000 years later looks nothing like it did when the courtesan was living, but we can't expect too much from something with such a limited budget.
If you're looking for something to watch to kill time, but not expecting a lot of sexiness (or maybe just a little), this film is worth at least one viewing. If you're looking for something more than that, you might want to skip it. It's really a "to each his own" title.
Not much left after bland editing
hollywoodshack17 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is touted online as available in R or unrated versions. Most of the unrated versions turn out to be R rated, so I doubt if this version exists on video. That said, there is very little excitement in the story to offer once the erotic scenes are edited out. Amy Lindsay was so hot in Femalien II I wanted to see if she had some magic to add to this show, but her role as a dissatisfied fiancé to impotent sculpture restorationist Michael tends to produce the same condition among viewers. They journey to India so he can restore a damaged statue in a location where the Kama Sutra was written. A mysterious woman seems to be a reincarnation of the statue and her flashbacks are nastier than the couple we're supposed to be interested in. I can only say after wasting bucks on 3 DVDs, rent or buy it where you can see if it's the version you want.
a missed opportunity
clovis-525 March 2001
Despite the exotic locale and the presence of good Indian talent, this is basically a typical American B-movie that provides an excuse for some nudity and sexual situations. Fans of the genre will recognize the principals as familiar faces from other such films. Not that that's a bad thing. With the popularity in recent years of Indian-themed films as "Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love" and "Fire", it's too be expected that this theme would be used for Playboy channel-style fare, with the potential to infuse the tired genre with some fresh energy. But we're going to have to continue to wait for someone to do it adequately. "Perfumed Garden" has great promise, including the suggestion that something might develop between the two female principals (one of whom is a beautiful Indian actress), but it goes nowhere. Director Mundra delivered the goods years ago with "The Other Woman", but for some reason drops the ball here.
Stink-bomb extrordinaire.
el_nickster3 June 2005
Do not, under any conditions, rent this reeking pile of dog-doo that purports to be a movie.
My lady and I thought this disk might make for a steamy evening's diversion. After all, the box describes the movie as being all about passion, love, etc. Well, it was a big disappointment. The film can be summed up as having the rich plot of a soft-core porn film, without any of the sex. That's right. It is a scam. There are very few love scenes. Most of them are brief, and involve the main characters getting into an argument. The plot is dull, and the dialog is totally awful. The acting is about on par for a porn film, too.
The only redeeming feature of this film is the fake parrot that appears in one of the dream sequences. A stuffed parrot is lying on its belly in a cage during two scenes. The thing is so fake, we both burst into laughter when the sound track included a parrot squawking. It might have been a dead parrot, but I think it was a doll.
My lady and I thought this disk might make for a steamy evening's diversion. After all, the box describes the movie as being all about passion, love, etc. Well, it was a big disappointment. The film can be summed up as having the rich plot of a soft-core porn film, without any of the sex. That's right. It is a scam. There are very few love scenes. Most of them are brief, and involve the main characters getting into an argument. The plot is dull, and the dialog is totally awful. The acting is about on par for a porn film, too.
The only redeeming feature of this film is the fake parrot that appears in one of the dream sequences. A stuffed parrot is lying on its belly in a cage during two scenes. The thing is so fake, we both burst into laughter when the sound track included a parrot squawking. It might have been a dead parrot, but I think it was a doll.
More enlightening than arousing, I should have went to bed instead.
bill guts22 March 2001
My girlfriend and I got the video in hopes of seeing an arousing movie. We were disappointed. The movie was slow, the storyline was okay, but wouldn't make sense if you didn't already know something about Karma and the Kama Sutra to begin with. The whole story could have taken up 30 minutes of film. If it did, it would have been better.
Colorful tale of royalty in India
lthseldy115 January 2002
This movie had it's ups and downs. I enjoyed the scenery in India and the way the people of India dressed, danced and all the things that make India so colorful and different. It acts on the religon and culture of India. But what this movie could have done without is the couple that traveled there. They were so annoying I forgot who they were. I know the man was named Micheal and he was having problems in his relationship with his girlfriend for God knows why she tries to make the relationship work out with Micheal as he tells her that he's leaving her and going to India to check out some Budahs. They decide to go and while they are in India they come across a strange lady that claims to be a reincarnation of a servant girl that once lived in a paradise garden with royal subjects. The girl in the past falls in love with another man and seduces him but there is no indication of what happened to them other than the fact that they fell in love. Centuries past and in comes Micheal and the strange lady stops at nothing to get him back. Micheal soon begins to think the lady is crazy for accusing him of being a reincarnated monk and she finds herself lost.
Beneficial Drama Play
jeff-e-moeller17 January 2022
This was like a light dramatized classical theming of spiritual topics with a sensual overtone. I thought it was great on a number of levels including the spiritual, the understanding of east meets west, artistic and architectural notions, and not only the sensual, the sensual in terms of history and relationship values.
"Chick porn" goes to India
DeWayne30 June 2001
This film purports to be erotic entertainment, but is neither fish nor foul. It is an unnecessarily complicated mediocre story not very well told, and from my point of view, not erotic. It is `chick porn,' thus we see no genitals or intercourse, but spend lots of time on The Relationship. There is brief full (female) frontal nudity, but it is purely incidental. We have to make do with a reasonable helping of bare breasts, but they aren't doing anything either. There is so little of any kind of sex in this film that the invocation of the Kama Sutra is a fraud. By introducing mysterious India, its ancient non-Calvinistic religions and its famous sexual philosophy, this film had great potential as a `classy' erotic film for people with at least a high school education, but it never developed into anything.
Very Good Movie, I Say...
magicalkittie1 December 2004
OK, obviously the person who posted before me did not watch the entire movie. It is a very good movie about love that survives through the ages. A man and woman are having relationship troubles because he is impotent with her. They decide to travel to India for him to study and preserve a temple as part of his job.
Along the way, the couple meets a very strange woman that tells a heart-breaking story of a couple who could not be. The story is of a monk who visits a castle to paint pictures of the king and queen performing Kama Sutra (which back then was a way of life). He falls in love with one of their helpers and betrays his vow of celibacy. The couple dies alone and apart.
After this story is told, the strange woman tells Micheal that he is the reincarnation of the monk and she is of the helper. (He doesn't think she's crazy *rolling eyes*) She tells him that she has loved him for hundreds of years. Micheal admits to the woman that he is in love with another woman. The woman understands and tells him that she will love him for ages until they are able to be together.
In the end, the man is no longer impotent and the viewer is heart-broken by the woman's story.
That is what this movie is about and I would recommend it to anyone!
Along the way, the couple meets a very strange woman that tells a heart-breaking story of a couple who could not be. The story is of a monk who visits a castle to paint pictures of the king and queen performing Kama Sutra (which back then was a way of life). He falls in love with one of their helpers and betrays his vow of celibacy. The couple dies alone and apart.
After this story is told, the strange woman tells Micheal that he is the reincarnation of the monk and she is of the helper. (He doesn't think she's crazy *rolling eyes*) She tells him that she has loved him for hundreds of years. Micheal admits to the woman that he is in love with another woman. The woman understands and tells him that she will love him for ages until they are able to be together.
In the end, the man is no longer impotent and the viewer is heart-broken by the woman's story.
That is what this movie is about and I would recommend it to anyone!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
