Sex (1970) David Avidan

While a poem being read and an Hassidic melody sung a naked woman on a bed moves with sexual pleasure, her limbs splayed cruciform as in ecstasy.

“The image is universal; the country of origin is Israel, confirming that its young are not different from others elsewhere. The atmosphere is cool, modern, Western; the decor utilitarian, the style avant-garde. Nothing detracts from the soft abandon of the scene. This film is banned in Israel. And who said that Israel cannot make sex films? Yet the contrasting myths of Israel as an idealistic society given to righteous self-improvement or a militarist-orthodox state bent on self-aggrandizement are so strong that this work comes as a surprise. Its manifold copulations, sophisticated stance, avant-garde modernity, and political thrusts stamp it as the testimony of a new generation. One sequence: “A vision of the Virgin Mary waiting for the Holy Ghost to do his thing, as Avidan’s voice sings a tearful Yiddish refrain and Joseph the Carpenter bangs on the door, before going to take his vengeance by building a cross.”” — Amos Vogel

Sex (1970)