Crude, sometimes disturbing, Pleasure explores the porn industry from a female perspective.
Bella Cherry (the extraordinary Sofia Kappe) arrives in the United States. At customs, she is asked if she is there for business or pleasure. You guessed what she answers.
Because she comes from Sweden – the director Ninja Thyberg is Swedish – and has every intention of breaking into the porn industry. The following sequence shows Bella, it is her stage name that she has tattooed on her hand , answering a series of questions – age, understanding of the scenes she is about to film, etc. – meant to show us that the adult film industry is now safe and respectful of women in this post #MeToo era.
As you can imagine, it is not. This is all the more glaring when Ninja Thyberg follows two scenes, one on the set of a film directed by a woman, where Bella is surrounded both emotionally and physically, and the other on an all-male set where the young woman has no voice in the matter and some moments of which we see through her eyes.
Neither Ninja Thyberg nor Sofia Kappe have the answers to the questions they pose. The “power” that the actress holds, her ability to say “no”, her choice of profession, the regulation of the industry, the objectification of women (and men, to a lesser extent) are all reflections that endure after viewing this punchy feature film selected at Cannes in 2020 (the Festival was canceled due to the pandemic) and presented at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011.
Rating: 4 out of 5