Therese and Isabelle (1968)

Therese and Isabelle (1968)

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“They’ll never separate us — never!”

Synopsis:
While revisiting the boarding school she attended as a teenager, a woman named Therese (Essy Persson) reflects back on her friendship and romance with Isabelle (Anna Gaël).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Boarding School
  • Lesbianism
  • Radley Metzger Films
  • Sexual Liberation

Review:
This softcore lesbian coming-of-age flick by director Radley Metzger — who later turned to helming adult films under pseudonyms such as “Henry Paris” — features Swedish actress Essy Persson in her best known follow-up to I, a Woman (1966). It’s a terribly written, banal tale of a poor young rich woman (Persson) abandoned at a boarding school by her mother (Barbara Laage):

… who has remarried and no longer has time or attention for her daughter. Persson finds friendship-with-benefits in Gaël, who is more than willing to induct her into sensual realms.

Their lovemaking scenes together primarily consist of their semi-nude bodies while Persson recites hideously prosaic dialogue in voiceover: she informs us that she and Gaël “could find no shelter from the great tide of time;” that Gaël “found [her] as one who finds a fruit;” that she herself “was a violinist stroking the bow.” (There is plenty more of this, albeit much racier and more explicit.) Skip this one unless you happen to be curious.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Hans Jura’s cinematography

Must See?
No.

Links:

One thought on “Therese and Isabelle (1968)”

  1. Rewatch 10/16/21. Not must-see.

    Ponderous and overly long, ‘T&I’ is described by one YouTube viewer as “a pale reflection of the book”. I wouldn’t know about that – but, if it’s earnest in its approach, equal parts romantic and angst-ridden, it’s also often awkward in its tone and too often unintentionally funny (in particular, the narration by Therese, filled with descriptions of sexual activity, which is fairly hilarious).

    The film has one interesting aspect: it employs a narrative device which combines the present with the past. Filmed in English, it has a decidedly French feel to it and strives for an art-house texture (esp. in its cinematography).

    None of the performances have much to offer.

    All told, it’s a rather dreary film – one that becomes noticeably sluggish in its last 30-40 minutes.

    Metzger (who was originally from The Bronx!), had, of course, already become somewhat… ‘adventurous’ in his erotic films – and would continue along such experimental lines.

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