Oshima’s ‘senses’, Russell’s ‘devils’. Scandal is back at the cinema

Not all anniversaries are a bad thing. The 50 years that have passed since the fabulous 1970s have brought two unmissable and scandalous films back into circulation. A couple of days ago, “L’impero dei sensi” returned to a handful of cinemas – the full list is on the CatPeople website. Nagisa Oshima’s film, which in 1976 drew coachloads of spectators from Lombardy to the Locarno Film Festival—where it was on the programme—lured by the promise of uncensored sex. The free, round-the-clock porn guaranteed by the internet was not even imaginable back then. The few adult cinemas were on the outskirts, and were frequented with caution.

This is a unique opportunity. It’s a chance to see a beautiful film – not for the amount of skin on show. Set in Tokyo in 1936, it tells the story of the passion between Sada, a former geisha, and Kichizo, the owner of the inn where she works. We know nothing else about them; they are almost always in bed naked, and the film – in its uncut version, which hasn’t even been seen in Japan – lasts one hour and 40 minutes.

Since 19 October, another scandalous film has returned to Italian cinemas – not all of them, but mainly those specialising in arthouse cinema. Ken Russell’s "I Diavoli", dated 1971, five years before "L’impero dei sensi". The Wall Street Journal has devoted a lengthy article to it, suggesting that it has captivated Gen Z – Zeta as in Zoomers, that is to say those born between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s. The generation that did not have its own Douglas Coupland as a key writer, but is now associated with the derogatory phrase ‘Ok, Boomer!’. This contempt, as we can see, does not extend to generational films, in contrast to the endless porn of the present day.

Oliver Reed, sporting a fine pair of 1970s porn-star-style moustaches—you will no doubt have seen Deep Throat; Jacqueline Kennedy was also photographed queuing in New York—plays Father Urban Grandier in 17th-century France. Vanessa Redgrave plays the Mother Superior of the convent. At the heart of the story lies a case of possession in 17th-century France, fictionalised by Aldous Huxley in his book "The Devils of Loudun": a case of collective demonic possession that took place in 1634 in the French town of Loudun. The first to write about it was Alexandre Dumas, who included it in his collection Les Crimes Célèbres, published in 1840. There is also a comic book, illustrated by Paolo Armitano and Davide Furnò.

Sex in a convent is now a classic theme. Whether raunchy, as in certain Italian films (‘Metti lo diavolo tuo ne lo mio inferno’, 1972), or experimental, such as Krzysztof Penderecki’s opera, which premiered in 1969 – though not without controversy. Returning to Ken Russell’s film, the Wall Street Journal reports on its resurgence, having reappeared in a New York cinema last autumn. The craze then spread to England and Ireland, and Halloween did the rest. And, of course, it spawned memes – a sure sign of its appeal to the public.

In a 1995 interview, Ken Russell reiterated that his film was not a pornographic film. Rather, it was about brainwashing.

It was censored nonetheless; two scenes were cut. Even the critics were perplexed; no one came to the film’s defence. In the first scene, the crucifixes were not used in a particularly orthodox manner. In the second, there was blasphemy and a touch of the macabre. Sister Jeanne does terrible things with the priest’s charred femur, recovered after the burning. Both scenes have been rediscovered and restored. A fan has put a plastic replica of the charred femur up for sale – 3D printing works wonders.