A huge step up from its predecessor, Emmanuelle 2 takes the position of the woman already being liberated and not needing coercion in order to act upon sexual impulse. The exotic locale featured in this film is Hong Kong, offering Emmanuelle and her husband a lot of opportunity to have steamy run-in with their fellow travelers. However, the sexuality of those native to Hong Kong is more objectified than in the first film, which does showcase scenes of the people of Bangkok engaging in sexual acts of their own. However, notable for this sequel is that the foreign body as a whole is seen as sexual and desirable in its own right, with insert shots of Asian bodies cut between conversations of attraction and femininity and masculinity. One such scene has Emmanuelle and Anna Maria talking about the nature of male desire versus female desire while out for lunch. As they are conversing, there is a bodybuilder competition being held. Shots of their defined masculine musculature are inserted in as the women talk about how they also “cruise” in a similar sense that men do.
It helps that the sex is a lot more beautiful to look at in this film. It’s soft in nature, sure, but the eroticism is heightened by a great sense of identity from scene to scene. Distinct colour palettes for each setting and the way the camera frames the body to view sex as physicality is a great choice. It’s especially noticeable in the massage parlor scene that features Laura Gemser, with the camera cutting between each of our main actors and their paired off masseuse. Shots are flat, but done in a way to highlight silhouette and form amidst the movement as the edit cuts from person to person, maintaining direction. It helps that not too long ago there was even a sleek and cheeky animated sequence that takes on a similar composition. The film’s identity is just so strong as a piece of erotic travelogue.
A huge step up from its predecessor, Emmanuelle 2 takes the position of the woman already being liberated and not needing coercion in order to act upon sexual impulse. The exotic locale featured in this film is Hong Kong, offering Emmanuelle and her husband a lot of opportunity to have steamy run-in with their fellow travelers. However, the sexuality of those native to Hong Kong is more objectified than in the first film, which does showcase scenes of the people of Bangkok engaging in sexual acts of their own. However, notable for this sequel is that the foreign body as a whole is seen as sexual and desirable in its own right, with insert shots of Asian bodies cut between conversations of attraction and femininity and masculinity. One such scene has Emmanuelle and Anna Maria talking about the nature of male desire versus female desire while out for lunch. As they are conversing, there is a bodybuilder competition being held. Shots of their defined masculine musculature are inserted in as the women talk about how they also “cruise” in a similar sense that men do.
It helps that the sex is a lot more beautiful to look at in this film. It’s soft in nature, sure, but the eroticism is heightened by a great sense of identity from scene to scene. Distinct colour palettes for each setting and the way the camera frames the body to view sex as physicality is a great choice. It’s especially noticeable in the massage parlor scene that features Laura Gemser, with the camera cutting between each of our main actors and their paired off masseuse. Shots are flat, but done in a way to highlight silhouette and form amidst the movement as the edit cuts from person to person, maintaining direction. It helps that not too long ago there was even a sleek and cheeky animated sequence that takes on a similar composition. The film’s identity is just so strong as a piece of erotic travelogue.
