A disc is inserted into the DVD player and soon the screen comes to life. The frame is crimson and in the center the following appears in sans serif white letters: Joie De Vivre
Timeless lute music can be heard as two figures appear on a horizonless set that is illuminated by a minimal amount of light. A naked man and woman are just barely distinguishable as such by the stark outline of their silhouettes against the backlighting. The woman’s wrists are bound and her arms are pulled above her head by a heavy rope, a spreader bar secures her ankles. A black velvet blindfold covers her eyes.
The man lightly strokes his fingers over her breasts. Next he licks and sucks first one nipple and then the other. Once the erectile tissue responds to his ministrations, he places clamps on each nipple and tightens them slowly until the woman winces. He pulls firmly on the chain connecting the clamps to focus the attention of his partner.
While he continues to tug on the chain with one hand, his other wanders to her mons and teases her clitoris. Rolling the moist flesh between his thumb and forefinger causes her knees to buckle slightly and elicits a low moan. The camera zooms in to capture the moisture forming on her labia and the subtle changes to the color of her flesh as blood flows to the pressure points.
Without interrupting his attention to her primary erogenous zone, the man leans in and delicately kisses the woman’s ears, making her shiver ever so slightly. Eventually he releases his hold on her and moves to her rear. He slowly licks his way from the nape of her neck to the small of her back, and continues downward along the contour of her slender ass. All the while the camera concentrates on his sensuous lips and tongue as they pleasure her body.
The screen goes black for several beats. When the faint light returns the man is behind the woman and he is holding a small flogger. With one hand he reaches around to stimulate her clitoris, and with the other he explores her ass and thighs with the supple strands of the whip. At first he simply drags the soft leather over her flesh. Then he starts to use the tool within his grip in the manner its maker intended―gentle blows to begin with, gradually increasing in intensity.
The tempo of the music accelerates to match that of the flogger’s tendrils caressing the woman’s flesh. No longer is the man massaging her sexual center, he is a few paces away, expertly using the flogger to satisfy his lover’s inner hunger. A prolonged montage ensues consisting of an artful mix of slow motion, close-up, freeze-frame and superimposition sequences that depict the passion and intensity of the experience.
At the end the music stops―only the sounds of labored breathing disturb the following quiet. Even in the subdued light marks are evident on the woman’s pale skin. Also evident is the man’s arousal. He goes to her and presses himself against her soft flesh, rubbing his hard member up and down the crevice of her backside. Gently, he guides himself into her dilated orifice and slowly penetrates her until his penis is completely enveloped.
As he begins thrusting inside of her, the music resumes. The simple melody played by the lute closely follows the rhythm of their coupling. Holding the flogger in a cinched-up fashion, the man slaps the woman’s vulva lightly in unison with his rocking movements. It is obvious that both are increasingly aroused by the combination of these actions. They continue to build toward the finale. It soon arrives with a violent shudder and startling wail from the woman, followed by a quiet grunt and sigh from the man. The whip drops to the floor and he embraces her tenderly. Then the music fades away and the lights dim until the set is in complete darkness.
* * * *
After several seconds the frame is again crimson and in the center the following appears in sans serif white letters: A Variation on a Theme
As the marginally lit set is once again visible, soulful cello music in the lower register begins. The man is kneeling in a subservient pose in front of the woman. His arms are secured together behind his back, his ankles connected by cuffs and a short length of chain. A leather hood with openings at the nose and mouth covers his head.
The woman is seen from the man’s perspective, looking down with her arms crossed, a burgundy-colored riding crop dangling from one hand. She touches his lips with the leather flap on the tip of the crop and he kisses it. Next she leans down and kisses him deeply, thrusting her tongue down his throat as far as it will go. It is a long and passionate kiss, and when it is over he is gasping for breath.
She lets the whip rest lightly on the man’s shoulder. He reacts to this cue by leaning forward, thrusting his ass up and spreading his legs as wide as the restraints will allow. Carefully the woman lubricates a rather sizable butt plug, lingering over the task to heighten the anticipation. She kneels on one knee and slowly inserts the device into his anus. Before rising, she grabs his scrotum and simultaneously squeezes and pulls his testicles firmly savoring the erotic sensations this action evokes a good while before releasing her grip.
The first strokes are harmless, meant to set a rhythm rather than inflict pain. Gradually the force behind the blows increases and red splotches begin to appear on the man’s flesh. Occasionally the flap lands with moderate velocity on his ball sac, causing him to groan involuntarily. As the session unfolds the camera periodically zooms to close-ups of the woman’s eyes, which are constantly focused with animal-like intensity.
Again she lets the whip rest lightly on his shoulder. The woman changes her stance to allow her more leverage as she delivers a series of blows with the long and rigid portion of the crop. “One,” he calls out as the first of them cuts into his flesh, immediately raising an angry red welt. He continues counting the strokes aloud, his articulation progressively more labored, until the final and most vicious…”Ten!”
The lights slowly fade and for several beats the screen is black and there is silence. When the light comes back to its former level, the woman is seated in front of the still-kneeling man. He has the toes of her left foot in his mouth and is alternately sucking and licking them with fervor. Eventually she allows him to service her other foot. Cool jazz piano music accentuates the mood set by the tableau on the screen.
Finally she is sated with his foot worship, and she drapes her legs over his shoulders and pulls him to her crotch. His lips and tongue begin to kiss and tease every inch of her vulva. The camera moves in close and crops the frame so only his mouth and her sex fill the screen. The effect is like secretly watching a passionate French kiss, only this is much more intimate. The man is very talented with his tongue, and the woman very aroused after the prolonged foreplay. She is brought to two successive, intense orgasms.
Briefly she holds him against her sex and gently strokes his shoulder. Then she retrieves a penis gag with a protruding dildo and straps it on his mouth. He shifts positions and lies down on his back and the woman places a pillow under his head. The phallus slides inside of her quickly and easily, causing her to quiver slightly when it reaches her cervix.
She is facing his penis and reaches down and begins stroking it while she rhythmically squirms atop the dildo. In her other hand she holds a penis whip, which she begins using on his scrotum. The combined actions are extremely arousing for both of them. A brief slow motion sequence captures the essence of the moment as she purposely times her final orgasm to coincide with the man’s climax. Afterward she leans forward and rests her head upon his torso. Again the music stops and the lights dim slowly.
Several beats pass before tentative, sporadic applause is heard. Soon the applause is thunderous, indicative of an ovation. Before long a single spotlight appears on the center of the set, setting off another round of applause. Barely discernible in the background, two figures approach the audience.
They are holding hands and skipping like children. When they reach the spotlight they stop and blow kisses to the onlookers and then bow. After they rise up from bowing, the camera freeze-frames on them as they smile and wave to the crowd. For the first time they are visible in full light. The mystery and artifice are gone. The klieg light reveals the laugh lines and the gray hairs, the sagging muscles and the cellulite, the character and…the joie de vivre.