#FEMALE PLEASURE (Barbara Miller, Switzerland/Germany). 97 minutes. Rating: NNN
On the heels of #MeToo and the rise of other feminist movements, #Female Pleasure takes the fight for gender equality one step further by examining how female sexual pleasure is viewed in five different cultures.
From a Somali-British activist working to end female genital mutilation, to an ex-Hasidic Jew who left her patriarchal community, to a South Asian woman trying to make “love” and “sex” part of conversations about romantic relationships in India, the film uncovers the ways female pleasure is associated with power, and how attempts to eliminate pleasure are directly related to disenfranchising women.
It’s a timely and necessary topic, for sure, but Miller’s interviews with her subjects feel monotonous since the messaging is similar across the board. While small success is achieved by the end of the doc, the audience doesn’t necessarily come out wiser.
