Marie Liljedahl & co in "Jag - en Oskuld" [1968 Sweden]

Let's digress a little bit here. "Jag - en Oskuld" [Eng. Title: Inga] is a kind of 'transitional' film from the late sixties - a metamorphosis of sorts in cinema that eventually evolved into a new genre called 'softcore'. While loops and stag films existed long before this one came, it was among of the first crop of films that tried to make those gentlemen's voyeuristic pass-times a bit more respectable - by inducing some cinematic value. American director (and later to become pornographer of repute) Joseph W. Sarno went all the way to Sweden to create his landmark film using talents from the land of Bergman. He was certainly inspired by Ingmar Bergman and used whatever he had at his disposal to create an erotica that Bergman-lovers might actually sit and watch. But of course Bergman is not just about make-up and lighting - its the composition, design, screenplay and the deep insight into his characters that makes it a unique experience. But leaving that aside, it succeeds as a coming-of-age drama, even if it may not compare to a Salvatore Samperi ("Malizia", which I may one day also get around to posting). Of course, we're comparing it with something made five years later, so I'll give this film a qualified thumbs up despite my awareness of what Sarno's future projects became. But for curiosity and academic interest, this film is Recommended Viewing..!

Storyline:
The Swedish title literally translates as "I, a virgin", so we can guess what this is about. After her divorced mother dies, young Inga is invited by widowed maternal aunt Greta to come and live with her. Seventeen, and a book worm brought up in a convent, she initially finds herself out of place in her aunt's hedonistic circle. But she's curious and adapts quite naturally to explore her budding sexuality. Greta has a twentyone year old toy-boy Karl, an unpublished writer, who's with her purely for some spending money. Einar, a friend of Greta's deceased husband is wealthy and married, but wants to also have Greta as a mistress so that he can stem his habit of running after teenage girls, and is willing to pay a monthly fee for her services. Greta agrees as she could actually use that money to fund her Karl. But once Inga comes to live, Greta notices Einar's fascination for Inga, and hatches a plan that'll allow herself more time with Karl...

The film is quite tame by today's standards when it comes to nudity, but then we're talking about the sixties, when despite the discovery of the morning-after pill, many still held traditional views when it came to sex before marriage - Sweden's was one of very few societies that tolerated sex and nudity in cinema, where despite the fact that the actress playing the titular role, Marie Liljedahl was barely seventeen, the film apparently did very well at the box office.

My NTSC DVD hasn't been remastered, but comes with two options - original Swedish with hard English subtitles, or the English dubbed version, and I chose the latter for this compilation. There's also a commentary in English from Sarno and his wife, but the comments are not specific to the scene we're watching and therefore a bit pointless. I couldn't locate any DVD in stock at the time of posting but will insert a link once I locate one. By the way, there's also a sequel to this which was shot in colour (The Seduction of Inga) and Marie Liljedahl, all of twenty one, struts around naked a lot including a lesbian scene - but the film is sleazy and plain softcore. I wouldn't be surprised if this was what drove Ms. Liljedahl to give up acting in films altogether.




Compilation: Marie Liljedahl, Monica Strömmerstedt, Anne-Lise Myhrvold, Lotta Persson, and others
A composite of several nude and partially nude scenes - I had to do a bit of digging to determine some of the names, but one still remains elusive.



Scene Guide:

• At one of the parties where Greta and Karl congregate, one of the girls (name unknown) is 'sentenced' for still keeping her virginity intact, and the sentence is to be carried out then and there thanks to a helpful volunteer..! :)
• Dagmar has her eyes set on Karl despite knowing that he's seeing Greta. One day, she 'takes advantage' of the situation. Dagmar is played by sultry blonde vixen Anne-Lise Myhrvold.
• Inga and and aunt Greta in the sauna - the maid is chatting with Greta while giving her a massage, the dialogues are in English which doesn't require explaining. Inga is played by doe-eyed nymphette Marie Liljedahl, and Greta by Monica Strömmerstedt, Ms. Strömmerstedt would soon give up acting to pursue a career in law, eventually also becoming a judge.
• Inga steps in and out of the shower and admires her nubile breasts - nice.
• It appears Inga also has a bit of an exhibitionist in her when she changes into her négligée in full view of Karl, staring at her through the window. After he leaves frustrated - he's after all seeing her aunt, Inga pleasures herself on bed in an unconvincing but tastefully done masturbation scene.
• Inga is invited to Einar's cabin for the weekend - here he's putting her to bed. She plays with her toy soldiers afterwards - while the scene may have been intended to show her innocent child-like instincts clashing with budding sexuality, the way in which it is filmed and the dreadful acting ends up making it look kinky..! :D
• Inga is encouraged by Greta to socialise with her hedonistic gang, who later at a barn pair up and get into an impromptu orgy, but a petrified Inga runs away from a lad who shows some interest in her. One of the girls having fun regardless is Uta, played by brunette Lotta Persson.
• Greta admonishes Inga for running away from her friends - she after all wants Inga to loose her virginity so that she would be ready to replace her as Einar's mistress - this is 'grooming' of a different kind. Greta persuades Inga to return to her friends, instead Inga goes looking for Karl to have her cherry picked. This is Puffy Galore..! :D

 

 

.