Three Great Films about BDSM

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| #3. "BELLE DE JOUR"

| Direction: Luis Buñuel

| Released: 1967

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This eroticly-charged drama is both a darling of world cinema and a masterpiece in the pantheon of surreal film-making. For film buffs, it should be considered essential viewing.

Belle de Jour stars Catherine Deneuve as the titular "Lady of the Day": a married woman who is pre-occupied by her sadomasochistic fantasies. Subsequently, she chooses to work as a prostitute during her leisurely afternoons, all while her oblivious husband (played by Jean Sorel) is busy working.

This film, to me, is defined by its small mysteries and the many spontaneous eruptions into fantasy. But, even if those surrealistic elements are going to be lost on you, Belle de Jour still deserves to be seen, even if you do so only to witness Deneuve at her most iconic. This is in no small parts thanks to the exquisite costumes, which were designed by the legendary Yves Saint Laurent.

Catherine Deneuve + Yves Saint Laurent = Something you need to witness for yourself, sooner rather than later.

Oh, and that's not to mention the striking imagery of Deneuve, helplessly bound to a tree, while being savagely whipped. That certainly doesn't hurt in terms of cultural memorability, either. In the relatively small world of BDSM cinema, that moment is as iconic as a single frame of footage gets. It's the fetish equivalent of that subway scene in The Seven Year Itch, when Monroe's skirt is blown up past her knees.

For any lonely or neglected housewives out there who have been curious about escaping into their own BDSM fantasy, I think Belle de Jour will serve as a titillating, but tasteful introduction to the possibilities available.

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| #2. "TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN!"

| Direction: Pedro Almodóvar

| Released: 1989

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There is a very strange cocktail of tonality being served-up to us in Almodóvar's masterpiece: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!.

At times, the film's tone is creepy and deeply threatening; at other times, it's sincere and romantic; or thrilling and propulsive; or quiet and contemplative. But regardless of what tone the film strives for in any particular moment, this taboo and always unusual cocktail goes down as smoothly as any rom-com ever has.

This is largely because of the presence of a charismatic mental patient, played by Antonio Banderas. He seduces and subsequently kidnaps a young actress, who's played by Victoria Abril, in hopes that she'll become convinced to marry him. Stockholm syndrome is a key element of this tale; but instead of being used as a cautionary tale, it serves as the jumping off point for tender and endearing romance.

It really is startling to think that even despite this film's seemingly criminal premise, it manages to still wear its heart on its sleeve to this degree -- and it's a rather warm heart, too, even if it is being worn on the sleeve of a straight-jacket...

Oh, and if Internet trivia is to be believed, then Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! was the first film to ever be classified with the NC-17 rating. Wud-yah-know! That alone has to make this film historically significant enough to merit a viewing. Right?

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| #1. "SECRETARY"

| Direction: Steven Shainberg

| Released: 2002

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Secretary is a flawed film, I'll be the first to admit that, but it certainly has more than enough memorable moments to merit a viewing; and if you consider yourself a devotee of all things BDSM culture, then watching Secretary should be a total no-brainer for you.

Although it contains a little too much fetish-material to be considered easy viewing - perhaps even for those who've recently had their interest in the subject-matter piqued - to the audience who is well-versed in the world of Domination and Submission, this film plays as a sentimental and heart-felt love story.

If you enjoy lurid tales of bondage and submission even a little bit, then this story will resonate somewhere inside your imagination, even long after you've forgotten the specific of the plot. Most of this film's many highlights are thanks to the two terrific leads: Maggie Gyllenhaal, who plays Lee Holloway, a naive young woman with a predilection for self-harm; and James Spader, who plays her neuroses ridden boss, an attorney named E. Edward Grey.

If the name E. Edward Grey seems familiar to you within the context of BDSM, it's because E. L. James "homaged" the character in her novel Fifty Shades of Grey. In fact, many aspects of Secretary will remind you of a better crafted rendition of Fifty Shades of Vanilla, only produced three years earlier... I'm frankly shocked there was never any copyright lawsuit regarding the numerous similarities between both stories.

Secretary is the ultra-rare kind of film that doesn't only depict a fetish-based relationship, but defines the specific emotional motivations and incentives involved in the dynamic, too. Grey is troubled upon learning the extent of Holloway's self-harm; then, he effectively channels her sub-conscience drive to self-harm toward a healthier obsession: submission.

And for Lee Holloway, meeting Mr. Grey seems like a life-changing event, certainly for the net-positive. In large part, this film is a coming-of-age tale about Holloway becoming her own woman, merely told in the shadow of Mr. Grey's worsening neuroses.

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