Sebastiane (1976) - ★★★★

Director: Paul Humfress, Derek Jarman
Writers: Paul Humfress, Derek Jarman
Stars: Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James, Neil Kennedy

Sebastiane submersed me in a piece of history that is seldom explored. Set in an Italian desert outpost in 303AD, we view the lives of a group of soldiers that are isolated from the world. With no women, no real form of entertainment, and all the time in the world, they become very close and engage in homo-erotic acts. In the heart of the story is Sebastiane, a Christian man who has a strange sadomasochistic relationship with the captain of the group. While it all seems like “sex sex sex!” I found it to be much more than that. It’s an entertaining, enlightening, and entirely believable period drama that revolves around the world of homosexuals, bisexuals, and sexually frustrated straight men. Matthew Lotti of Cinematic Threads called it "More or less a Playgirl calendar with a period theme." I could not disagree with him more. 

In the Realm of the Senses (1976) - ★½

Director: Nagisa Oshima
Writer: Nagisa Oshima
Stars: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda

Here comes the age old question, is it art or is it porn? In the Realm of the Senses is about 80% porn in my opinion. The acting is quite good, the music is nice, the costumes and cinematography is very well done. Unfortunately, the rest of the film consists of sex, masturbation and even kinkier sex. It's a labor of love from Nagisa Oshima, who shows us that sex is more than just 'touch' and how it feels. The smell, the taste, the sight and even the sound can maximize a person's desire and pleasure. In the end, it's basically a high-class Japanese porno.