The Slave

Well, this was a surprise! I expected a movie called The Slave with a focus on BDSM relationships to be way more explicit than it was. The kink was very explicit. But it was a deeper exploration of BDSM dynamics than I expected for 1969. And this deeper exploration of kink is in place of overt nudity or sexual acts. I like this focus a lot. I also love the film’s visual style. I’d be totally for the film if it wasn’t for the damn dialogue.

When Silvia’s husband leaves on a business trip, Silvia finds herself without anything to do. Luckily, a friend of hers has mentioned her position working for a rich and “eccentric” actress named Margaret. When Sylvia arrives at Margaret’s, she realizes it’s a whole kink thing. Margaret is a domme and her employees are submissives. Uncertain but intrigued, Silvia agrees to Margaret’s offer of being her new “slave”, which includes monetary compensation. Silvia explores this new dynamic with Margaret to see if being in a 24/7 dom/sub dynamic with another woman is something she wants. She also has some psychedelic but sexy dreams shot on a much lower quality of camera than the rest of the film.

One factor that holds me back from championing The Slave is that I wanted something different than what the film wanted. Namely, I wanted no men. I wanted a whole kink manor of just women. This is a 1969 movie made by a man for an audience that was probably assumed to be primarily male. So men do run pretty constant. Margaret’s most emotionally intimate relationship is with a man. Likewise, the tenderest moment of aftercare Sylvia receives is also from a man. I can’t really justify being disappointed in this decades old movie for not reading my mind. But for queer women watching, I just thought I’d offer this warning. The Slave doesn’t ever really offer an exploration of female sexuality in the absence of men. They’re too present in the plot for that.

Plus, when these female characters open their mouths, the words of men tumble out. Especially Margaret. The way Margaret “flirts” and degrades Silvia is the most telling. Margaret constantly discusses Silvia’s female body as if it something foreign to her; as if Margaret is an outsider from the experience of having one herself. There’s also never any knowledge on display of female sexuality despite the fact that Margaret has a whole kink harem. It’s like these women have only ever heard of a pussy instead of owning one themselves.

There’s also an undercurrent of lesbophobia. Margaret has concerns about Silvia and bringing her into this “lifestyle”. Not the full-time kink bit, but because Margaret is a woman. Margaret’s male lover also teases her about there may be lesbian feelings from Silvia towards Margaret. I should hope so! I know non-sexual kink exists, but this seems to suggest that it’s totally fine to be degraded by a woman, get whipped by her and engage in a 24/7 mistress-slave dynamic and that’s fine. But don’t you dare fucking kiss her, that would be gay. The horror! The way the movie ends also plays into a rejection of potential sexual freedom which is disappointing.

But for all of that, my god. This movie is so beautiful and stylish. This is an absolute treat to look upon. Bright colours, stylish outfits and a whole atmosphere of glamour and kink. It’s a movie worthy of taking screencaps for a Pinterest mood board or Tumblr aesthetic post. Again, I think the lack of nudity and sexuality really benefited the film. Lots of films with similar content are so enthusiastic about showing boobs or assume that’s all its audience cares about that they don’t try for anything else. By contrast, The Slave creates a whole beautiful environment. It cares about what’s going on beyond a woman’s visible nipples.

The Slave is one of the most stylish sex or softcore films I’ve seen. It also delves deeper into kink than most other similar movies. What I would give for a version of this movie that had dialogue to back up the rest of the film’s good qualities. I mean, it is a sex film, and a foreign one at that. So it’s realistically easy to avoid the weakest element of the film. But it’s still there and really brings down what could’ve otherwise been the highest rated softcore film on this site.

Overall rating: 5.6/10

Other WLW films in similar genres