Trasgredire (aka "Cheeky")

by Brian

Tinto Brass may be best known in North America as the director of the doomed and often chided Penthouse epic, Caligula, but over in Europe he is recognized as one of the leading directors of high-quality erotica. The Italian maestro has once again stretched the limits of softcore with his most recent release Trasgredire.

Starring the beautiful Russian model, Yuliya Mayarchuk, this film is full of highly-charged eroticism and sensuality. Yuliya, as Carla,  looks positively sexy in sheer skirts and revealing tops, in which she is dressed for maybe only fifteen minutes of the entire film. The rest of the time she is pulling her panties off in public, teasing men with glimpses of her cooch, driving her lesbian real estate agent wild with lust, and generally creating an erotic frenzy wherever she goes. She has come to London in search of an apartment for herself and her lover, Matteo, a jealous type who suspects that perhaps Carla hasn't been as faithful as he imagined. D'uh! 

There are several borderline hardcore scenes in this film. And Tinto, being the ass man that he is, has provided several shots of various women's rear ends. My favorite was when Carla kneels down, back to the camera, and starts to cry over a fight she just had on the phone with Matteo. Instead of closing up on her tear-streaked face for some emotional impact, Tinto closes up on her quivering, naked butt. Is this guy Mr. Sensitivity or what? (Note: Tinto has written himself into this film as a "dirty old man" who gets to finger Miss Mayarchuk quite explicitly...ah, the perks of being the Director!)

This film gets a high recommendation, not only for the explicitness of the sex and the attractiveness of the stars, but for the fact it is a refreshing change of pace from your typical American softcore. Here the stars look like they actually enjoy performing and aren't afraid to get their fingers wet...er, so to speak. The overall lesson of this film seems to be that jealousy is a good thing, simply because it creates instant desire (try using that line if you ever get caught cheating!) The biggest drawback to the film is that the characters are just so damn unrealistic; watching Carla weep over her break-up with Matteo just doesn't seem sincere when she has just let a complete stranger pop her in the pooper while at a party. And the storyline is weak, weak, weak, and compounded by a poor dubbing job. But all that stuff doesn't matter; the flick is hot enough to hold your attention just fine.

Note: There is full male nudity in this film but when erections are shown it is a plastic fake. Something to do with Italian ratings guidelines.