Review #483: 'The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak' (1984)

Based upon British bondage photographer and illustrator John Willie's 1950's and '60's fetishist character in the 'Sweet Gwendoline' comics, this French adaptation, vies more towards the adventure iconography of contemporary action cinema, than the Betty Page inspired submission-and-BDSM. Of course, the Gwendoline of the film does often - like the comic character - become tied in bondage (captured), but is not as sexualised, or eroticised - in the first two thirds at least. The film opens in China, and Gwendoline (Tawny Kitaen) has smuggled herself in a cargo case, - strangely her companion, Beth (Zabou), has not smuggled herself, leading to a questionable customs system - and has travelled in search of her father, who had been searching for a rare butterfly, in the mysterious region known as Yik Yak.

After being caught and bound by locals, she is inadvertently saved by American adventurer (in the vein of Indiana Jones), Willard (Brent Huff), a seeming misogynist rouge. Employing him as a guide, the three protagonists head for the land of the Yik Yak, in search of her father, and the mythical insect. After encounters with primitive tribes, and the inevitable capture-and-binding, the team enter a cave, that leads to a subteraenean world, where only women stay, mining for diamonds. Willard is used as a sex object, as several women fight to the death for the chance to be impregnated by him - and his death would be the inevitable end, after doing his duty.

The film has been often compared to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Barbarella (1968), and it certainly shares the latter's kitsch styling's. Luckily, considering the awful delivery of dialogue, and often terribly cliched lines, the film has it's tongue firmly lodged in it's proverbial cheek. However, this does not save it from coming across as crass, juvenile nonsense. In the subterranean world that the narrative climaxes in, it's iconography is filled with scantily clad, leather-bound women, which is a simple attempt at titillation - quite literally.

Directed by Just Jaeckin (a name that seems like a farcical mock - as in "just joking" pronounced in an Edinburgh accent) who previously had international attention with erotic hits, Emmanuelle (1974) and The Story of O (1975), he seems out of place in this fantasy adventure context. The saccharine relationship that develops between the male and female leads is horribly infantile, but as I previously said, this may be intentional, as the film makers may even have contempt for this kind of genre film - this is speculation. However, even if the "humour" was intentional, humorous is ain't, and simply comes across as callow and immature - and mostly seems like an excuse to show some tits.


Directed by: Just Jaeckin
Starring: Tawny Kitaen, Brent Huff, Zabou Breitman
Country: France

Rating: **

Marc Ivamy