Julia (1974)

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

"Es war nicht die Nachtigall" (and there are a handful more German and international/English titles for this film) is a West German German-language production from 1974, so this one is already over 40 years old. If you read the names of director Sigi Rothemund (who made this film early in his career) and late lead actress Sylvia Kristel, you already know exactly what to expect here: a mix of trash and soft-core porn while (only seemingly) supporting an important story about violence, love, romance and many more seemingly relevant aspects. It's actually really cringeworthy how this film takes itself so seriously I must say. I wish I could say that there are at least one or two quality aspects about these 85 minutes that somehow justify seeing the movie, but there are not. It's all as empty as it is pretentious and the acting is forgettable while the script is even worse. And sadly the sex scenes are also not too artistic or sensual that I would say it is at least (or only) a good watch when you are horny. It is fairly tough to say what the weakest component here is, but I guess I go with the script as this is the one that keeps together all the other components or makes them fall apart as with this one. I give this film a major thumbs-down and it is another example of how much Sigi Rothemund struggled very early in his career. Stay far far away from this one. I could not wait for it to end and if you really decide to see it, you will probably quickly feel the same.

As a Sylvia Kristel fan, I waited years to view this obscure West German film, as the title is quite rare. But wow, was it worth the wait! This was worlds better than what I was expecting. An erotic film, that attempts the difficult mix of humor and romance...and succeeds on both counts. The story centers on the handsome young student Paulie, on holiday in the gorgeous Swiss Alps, and on a mission to leave his innocence behind, and to become a man. Surrounded by decadent, beautiful older women, but the lovely Andrea (Sylvia Kristel) is the girl that truly captures his heart. Betrayed by a close friend, and later by his own self indulgent prick of a father, Paulie becomes more confused and angry about his situation. "Julia," titled after the character Juliet, of Shakespeare fame, covers all the bases of coming of age drama; betrayal, sexual frustration, loss of innocence, and both the joy, and sadness that can come from the first sexual experience. Nice surreal touches are included here as well, especially when it focuses on this kid's off-the-wall, wacko family! My side hurt from laughing so much at the absurd situations and predicaments these people find themselves in. I have to say, I absolutely love this film, the story, the characters/the gorgeous cast, the pretty cinematography and the wonderful artistic touches etc, and especially the bizarre comedic elements which made this a fun experience. There are some powerful emotional scenes too, that I was not expecting, such as the "love" scene filmed inside the Colosseum in Rome! That was heartbreaking, and awful..a betrayal that nobody should ever have to endure. I'm happy to find this gem, and look forward to showing it to friends. Highly recommended..

There is nothing even remotely interesting or particularly arousing in this boring piece of soft-core sex trash.The only reason to watch it is lovely Sylvia Kristel from "Emmanuelle" and "Private Lessons".The sex scenes are strictly soft-core and rather uninteresting.The last sex scene on tennis court in the rain is pretty good,though.The acting is mediocre and the film is loaded with some truly annoying and laughable characters.Sylvia Kristel provides some nudity,but there is not enough T&A for my liking."Julia" is a pretty obscure film,so if you're a fan of cheerful exploitation you may give it a look.Just don't expect something really arousing,because this film is just average.Watch Joe D'Amato's sleazy sexploitation movies or Walerian Borowczyk's erotic stuff instead.My rating:4 out of 10.

One of the unwritten rules for sex films is to depict sex as something enjoyable - perhaps it is a guilty pleasure and some punishment may be afoot, but a pleasure nonetheless. Another is that a once initiated sexual encounter always goes ahead - the punters loath prickteasing.This film dares touching these rules. The story resolves around an upper middle class family during the summer holidays. They are desperately trying to have a good time, and the emphasis is here on "desperately", because they are just not very at good at it. Sex is the only thing that overcomes their boredom, but even that rarely suffices. This lethargic lot is very hard to excite - the only time anyone got really upset was mother Hildegard when her husband's mistress told her at the family diner table that she was now sleeping with her teenage son as well.Make no mistake: this is a softporno and nothing else, it does not have a message of any kind. But it is much less predictable than the average genre flick and that makes for much more interesting viewing.Note: the UK release has an attempted rape scene (Pauli on Ivanna) cut, which is a bit of a shame as it explains the family's subsequent trip to Italy.