Inga

I have to confess that I'm admittedly a big fan of the output of Retro Seduction Cinema and have been keenly anticipating the release of Joseph Sarno's 'Inga' for quite some time. But before we go anywhere here I better set out the fact that films like 'Inga' may perhaps not be for the general genre mainstream viewer as it definitely falls into a particular niche that is more suited to specific tastes (that'll be mine then!)

'Inga' is a delightfully decadent slice of vintage Euro entertainment that follows a young virginal girl as she is pulled unwittingly into a sea of dysfunctionality by the somewhat deviant peers that surround here.

The film opens with 33-year-old widow Greta as she parties away with her young lover Karl and his friends. Their relationship is not the best as Greta is an ageing woman in denial as she psychologically feeds off her young beau who is a gold digging out of work artist who is slowly milking Greta of her funds getting her to buy him fancy cars, boats and the like. Greta's finances are starting to dwindle though and her mildly interfering housemaid Frida is keen to see Greta hook up with long time family friend Einar. Poor Einar's wife is institutionalised following many breakdowns, which it looks to have been partly brought about by Einar's continuing taste for slutty young harlots. And Greta's growingly turbulent situation is aggravated more when receives word of her sister Astrid's untimely death as this brings the news that she will now have to take custody of her virginal 17 year old niece Inga (played by the lovely Marie Liljedahl). But Greta sees the potential for sorting out her financial problems by attempting the poor Inga onto the lonely Einar suiting his taste for young girls...but will her plans fall in place and what will happen to the innocent young Greta as she's swept into the minefield of depravation which would be bad enough for most folk, let alone a young woman who is going through the turmoil of discovering herself and her sexuality...

'Inga' is a cracking wee movie that positively reeks of the era when it was made. Like some sort of retro Euro sleaze soap, you can smell the decadence and wallow in the style of this pseudo intellectual art house exploitation flick. The cast throughout are of the ilk that wouldn't dare crack a smile (they're way too cool for that) as they preen in their tight mod suits and mini dresses, flailing around like smartly dressed beatniks fretting about their deviant desires. Writer/director Sarno has delivered a nice is somewhat perverse drama that although is definitely out dated is all the more entertaining for that reason. The unfolding drama is backed by a grooving psychedelic soundtrack by the bizarrely named Clay Potts, a soundtrack which is highlighted to perfection during the opening dance party scene (check out those super cool retro dance moves daddy-o!) - a scene that in fact captures the whole essence of the movie's decadence very nicely!

Seemingly when 'Inga' first went on the theatrical trail all those years ago it caused quite a stir and perhaps understandably so. As well as plenty of erotic interaction throughout I would imagine that the somewhat dubious implication of the potential relationship between young Inga and the older Einar would have caused some concern - Sarno's presentation of the relationship is well executed showing Inga looking to Einar as some sort of father figure whilst Einar is obviously keen to take this onto a sexual level, yikes! The scenes of Inga's self-gratification whilst discovering her body would I'm sure caused some furled brows also for that matter, phnar!

Retro Seduction have done a splendid job with the films presentation here also - there are two cool options for watching the film (well three if you add the audio commentary). What you get is a great remastered and fully uncut (from the original 35mm black and white negative) print produced for the English market or the option of watching the original Swedish language print (sans English subtitles). There is also the option on the English language print to listen to a very bustling commentary conducted by respected genre historian Bruce Hallenbeck with director/writer Sarno, assistant director Peggy Stephans and US licensor/producer Sam Sherman. Both prints of the film look in great shape considering the age and scarcity of the source material and to be honest I'm just pleased that Retro seduction have made the welcome move to give this lovely little obscurity its moment on the DVD format.

Also included on the extras are two trailers for the film itself, a very nice audio interview with Inga's leading lady Marie Liljedahl (though I'd have loved to see what she looks like these days) and extensive out take footage which mainly consists of additional footage from the dance party scene and a few snippets of Inga's arrival and shower scene.

As I mentioned at the start, 'Inga' may not be to everyone's taste but if you like the idea of some vintage Euro decadence with some sleaziness thrown in and mixed together with some subtle psychedelia (Belle and Sebastian stylee) then 'Inga' should definitely sate your needs. Retro Seduction have done a sterling job with this one and should be applauded for their continuing work in the genre field - I would even go as far to say that they are fast becoming the leaders in reviving the retro genre scene with such lovely packages. Get hep and hot under the collar with some vintage seedy drama fun. Check it out!

Review by Alan Simpson

'Inga' can be ordered direct from Alternative Cinema by clicking here.