The Beast, Bestiality in France

"Beauty and the Beast" has enjoyed a myriad of interpretations over the years.  Most of us are keenly familiar with Disney's animated version.  Children of the 70s may remember the made for TV version featuring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere.  However, in 1975, Walerian Borowczyk made "The Beast."  This Rated X version is extremely difficult to watch, and beyond bestiality, touches on some taboo subjects, even in modern day cinema.  This French film was banned in England for it's depictions of the sex organs and elongated sex scenes featuring animals.  The depiction of the parish priest as a child molester may also have contributed to that ban.

The opening of this film is horse porn.  A prized stallion, in all his glory, is being mated.  Mathurin (Pierre Benedetti) takes great pleasure in watching animals mate, and his family has a huge estate in rural France.  The dynasty is dying, and in need of new blood (...and money).  That is where Lucy Broadhurst (Lisbeth Hummel) comes in.  Her wealthy family in England arrange a marriage between her and Mathurin.  The two have never met.  Lucy is beautiful and vivacious. Mathurin is brutish and crass.  Lucy is well aware of the legend of the estate she arrives at.  A beast comes out once a year to stalk the grounds.  Our damsel has no idea.

Enough of the plot.  One might say it is the "Beauty and the Beast" story.  We see a lot of copulating, naughty servants, too many penis shots, and some gratuitous bedpost and rose self gratification.  We also see the backstory of the original beauty, when she met the beast....and it is quite pornographic. The twist here is that our beautiful Lucy desires the beast, and is aroused at the thought of it's organ inside of her.  I warn you, when the original beauty (Sirpa Lane) is raped by the thing, she ends up lusting for the thing.  All the sex depicted in this film is taboo....priest lusts after boys..inter-racial intercourse...animal and lady....flower and lady...bedpost and lady. There is even a hint of an inappropriate sexual relationship between Lucy and her Aunt (Elisabeth Kaza). Some may be offended as all of it seems to be desired.

A woman who begins to explore her sexuality, in this film, desires intercourse with an animal...so goes this film.  Is this film a fantasy/fable/horror story or is Mr. Borowczyk seeking a deeper meaning.  Is there an element of what is being put forth here in existence....even in a fetish kind of way?  Available on Netflix (probably not in Canada and Europe), if you are curious, see "The Beast."