The Sadness of Sex

Running time: N/A

Dante wrote about the seven levels of hell in his Inferno. Rupert Wainwright's film THE SADNESS OF SEX illuminates each level of love. There are fifteen to be exact, and each one is traversed with a swirl of emotional and intellectual depth. THE SADNESS OF SEX is a hilarious tale told from the viewpoint of a helpless romantic along his stream or consciousness journey to the center of a human soul searching for life's unanswered questions about love. That's just the stage, however, as the film's journey is laced with a myriad of moods, styles and metaphors set against a "mish-mosh" of styles ranging from 1940's film noir to MTV style camera techniques. Enhanced by music from Stewart Copeland, The Golden Palominos and Cowboy Junkies (to name a few), the film takes it's viewer through a dream-like fantasy world created by the mind of it's narrator. Cupid assists our hero in the vignette titled "Silver Arrows". A cow plays a game of strip poker in "Udders". And we are introduced to a twelve inch tall woman in "The Surprise". Other vignettes include "Meteor", "Poison" and "Revolt" to give you an idea of just where this film leads us. Barry Yourgrau's script, based on his book of the same title, does not shy from getting to the truth behind the game of love. It does, however, leave it's viewer with the task of deciphering a surreal world created by his brilliantly twisted mind. If you're one of those people who can never remember their dreams, THE SADNESS OF SEX is a nice substitute. --Mike Rabehl