Sensual Scenes in Cinema: From Kubrick to Xavier Dolan

Racer and the Jailbird (Le Fidèle)

Le Fidèle (2017) is certainly one of those films that sparked debate due to the explicitness of certain scenes—most notably the one where the gangster Gigi (Matthias Schoenaerts) trysts with his girlfriend Bibi (Adèle Exarchopoulos) in a racing pit box. She is unaware of his double life and remains ready to forgive him even when he ends up in prison, going as far as wanting to conceive a child with him while he is behind bars. Directed by Michaël R. Roskam, the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2017.

L'Amant Double

Double Lover (2017) contains a scene that scandalized many viewers. The protagonist, Chloé (Marine Vacth), begins a relationship with her psychoanalyst, Paul (Jérémie Renier), who happens to be identical to the man she cheats on him with—Louis, also a psychoanalyst. In a key scene, Chloé is in bed with Louis in his office; notably, the promotion for the François Ozon-directed film featured the two leads sitting in the office completely unclothed. The film was presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Eyes Wide Shut

Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut (1999) features perhaps the most explicit orgy scene in cinematic history. It occurs when the protagonist, Dr. William "Bill" Harford (Tom Cruise), enters a mansion owned by Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack) that belongs to a secret society. Wearing a mask, Bill wanders through the rooms, witnessing various sexual encounters where participants' faces are the only things covered. This sequence is countered by the final confession of his wife, Alice Harford—played by Nicole Kidman, who was married to Cruise at the time. Late at night, she confesses to Bill that she had a dream about an orgiastic ritual in which she was the lead. The next morning, her face is still tear-stained. In the finale, Alice tells her husband how good it is to have "woken up" from their dreams, adding that there is one important thing left to do, famously using the "f-word" as an infinitive. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

Blow-Up

Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up (1967) features one of the first scenes of two women in provocative poses: in the studio of photographer Thomas (David Hemmings), two twenty-year-old girls behave suggestively while completely nude. Later, Thomas attends a party where the model Veruschka (German actress Vera Gottliebe Anna von Lehndorff-Steinort) is also present. Censors at the time cut several scenes, justifying the ban by stating: "This prohibition is motivated by sequences in which two girls go to the photographer and, while scuffling, strip naked. The photographer also joins the fray and is partially stripped... scenes which, regarding the sensitivity of minors and their moral protection, are deemed unsuitable for those under fourteen." The film was presented at the Cannes Film Festival.

Basic Instinct

In Basic Instinct (1992), the sensuality and eroticism Sharon Stone brought to the heated interrogation scene at the police station became a Hollywood cult classic. It turned her into an overnight sex symbol while simultaneously cementing her in the role of the sharp-tongued thriller novelist.

Blade Runner

In Blade Runner (1982), the gestures and atmosphere of sensuality were masterfully captured in the scene leading to the kiss between Sean Young and Harrison Ford. As awareness slowly dawns, barriers fall despite the stark reality of the difference between humans and replicants. The scene is bolstered by a powerful, atmospheric soundtrack.

Gilda

In Gilda (1946), eroticism is often about presentation—a visual art that transforms a lack of nudity into pure sensuality. In the 1940s, all it took was Rita Hayworth slowly removing a single glove to send millions of hearts racing.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula (1992) went on to win three Oscars. The desire Mina (Winona Ryder) feels for Prince Vlad (Gary Oldman), aka Count Dracula, is an ancestral crescendo of beauty and sensuality—Eros and Thanatos from their first meeting to the epilogue. The film also features a striking, explicit erotic scene when Dracula’s three brides (Monica Bellucci, Michaela Bercu, Florina Kendrick) seduce Jonathan (Keanu Reeves). The movie was a massive box-office success.

It's Only the End of the World (Juste la fin du monde)

Directed by Xavier Dolan in 2016 and awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes, this film features a scene of rare cinematic sensitivity. As the terminally ill Louis (Gaspard Ulliel) visits his family—who are torn between resentment and regret—he encounters his never-forgotten youth love, set to the track "Une Miss s'immisce" by Exotica. The film represented Canada for Best Foreign Language Film in 2017, making the final shortlist. The cast includes Vincent Cassel, Léa Seydoux, Marion Cotillard, and Nathalie Baye.

9 1/2 Weeks

Directed by Adrian Lyne, 9 1/2 Weeks (1986) is now considered a classic. Based on the 1978 memoir by Ingeborg Day, the film launched the careers of Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Upon its initial theatrical release, it was largely panned by critics and was a box-office flop in the U.S. The rest of its journey to becoming a cult phenomenon is history.