La virgen de la lujuria

Mexico, 1940s. The live of the introvert waiter Nacho is mainly spent in Café Ofelia. In his spare time, he withdraws to his room above the bar to masturbate over his collection of pornographic photos or play his favourite opera music. One evening, he meets the prostitute Lola. He courteously offers her his bed do sleep off her drunken stupor of opium and alcohol. The course and oversexed Lola soon recognises Nacho’s sadomasochistic tendencies and decides to make him her slave. Nacho’s obsession for Lola is so great that he is even willing to murder Franco for her.In this film, Ripstein presents sex as one of the facts of life. So Virgin of Lust is not only about the brutal SM relationship: this becomes part of the everyday course of events around Café Ofelia. There is a subplot about a group of Spanish republicans who fled Franco and fantasise together about his death and another about the republican Mikado who opens a photo studio where he stages images of the revolution.Striking are the long takes and the camera that seems to float along the atmospheric and nostalgic fantasy sets. Dressing, lighting and acting are of a very high quality. The unpredictable drama is presented in Ripstein’s typical theatrical and literary style.