Summary
Mano Destra (Italian for "right hand") is a 1986 Italian-language Swiss art film written, directed by and starring Cleo Uebelmann. In black and white, Mano Destra is a study of lesbian erotic objectification which depicts a woman tying up another woman in a lengthy act of consensual bondage.
| Mano Destra | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Cleo Uebelmann |
| Written by | Cleo Uebelmann |
| Starring | Cleo Uebelmann Unknown model |
Release date |
|
Running time | 53 minutes |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Language | Italian |
Images from the film were later published in 1988 as part of a book, The Dominas - Mano Destra by the Cleo Uebelmann-Group.[1]
Accolades edit
In Women and the New German Cinema, Julia Knight describes it as a film which explores the liberating possibilities of sadomasochism, subverting audience expectations of what sadomasochism is like.[2] In New Queer Cinema, B. Ruby Rich described it as "deserving of instant cult status".[3]
In The Pleasure Threshold: Looking at Lesbian Pornography on Film, Cherry Smyth states that its imagery is "beyond sex", and that "like being offered an ice-cold, luscious fruit drink on a hot day, which you are forbidden to taste, this film encapsulates desire as death, as nothingness, and yet utter completeness".[4][5]
The director Peter Strickland has cited the film as one of his sources of inspiration for his film The Duke of Burgundy.[6]
In 2018, the British Film Institute cited Mano Destra as one of the best 30 LGBT films of all time.[7]
References edit
- ^ Uebelmann, Cleo (1986). The Dominas - Mano Destra. Tübingen: Verlag Claudia Gehrke. ISBN 3887690389.
- ^ Knight, Julia (1992). Women and the new German cinema. London: Verso. pp. 166–168. ISBN 0-86091-352-X. OCLC 25412660.
- ^ Rich, B. Ruby. (26 March 2013). New queer cinema : the director's cut. Durham. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-8223-5411-6. OCLC 818416587.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Smyth, Cherry (Spring 1990). "The Pleasure Threshold: Looking at Lesbian Pornography on Film". Feminist Review (34): 152–159. doi:10.2307/1395314. JSTOR 1395314.
- ^ Collective, The Feminist Review (2005-07-18). Feminist Review: Issue 34: Perverse Politics. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-94034-9.
- ^ "Peter Strickland: six films that fed into The Duke of Burgundy". British Film Institute. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
- ^ "All voters and votes: The 30 Best LGBT Films of All Time". British Film Institute. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
Further reading edit
- Cherry Smyth. The Pleasure Threshold: Looking at Lesbian Pornography on Film. Feminist Review, No. 34, Perverse Politics: Lesbian Issues (Spring, 1990), pp. 152–159 doi:10.2307/1395314
External links edit
- Entry for Mano Destra at the British Film Institute film database
- Mano Destra at IMDb
- Entry for Mano Destra at the film's UK distributor
