Soft Porn Sunday: Chanra & Paul Michael Robinson

Do-do-do-do, doo, doo. Do-do-do-do, doo, doo. Do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do, do-do-do, doo.

Purely from memory, and even before thinking about opening this scene, or even opening VLC Media Player, I know how the music goes.

I love soft porn music. It can be very cheesy, but all in all it's better by far than hard porn music (what's sexy about "bow-chika-wow-wow" anyway?), and when it's used well, it really adds to the scene. In this scene, for example, the music isn't what I'd call a prime example of the genre - hell, it's not exactly a prime example of any genre - but it still works well with the scene, which is one of my favourites. It is:

Appearance: Emmanuelle 4: Concealed Fantasy, aka There's More to Love than Sex (1994)
Characters: Pamela & Haffron

So I will freely admit to liking the Emmanuelle in Space series, despite the ridiculous title, premise and script. Once you've got over the whole "hooray aliens!" thing, it's an enjoyable few romps and it's not hurt by the fact that the actors are, well, acting, even outside of the bedroom. Paul Michael Robinson's role, as the alien captain Haffron, is to look pretty, appear clueless about human society and sleep with a variety of exotic women, including - but not limited to - Emmanuelle (played at this point by Krista Allen). Robinson does a pretty decent shot as the acting bits, though: adopting a slightly halting American accent, using simple English rather than quick colloquialisms and slowly integrating more and more into human society. It can't be too easy a role to play, and yet he does it well. So good on him for that.

Although 90% of the sex scenes involving Haffron are with Emmanuelle (and rightly so; it's her series of films after all), a few of them have him with someone else - eight, if I'm counting correctly in my head. Most of them happen in the first film in the sequence, Queen of the Galaxy, and so this one in film four is a bit of an oddity. But it's a good'un.

Haffron meets Pamela (played by Chanra, who has NO LAST NAME) playing squash (yes, really) in Hong Kong (again, really), and they have a game while Emmanuelle showers (which basically gives Krista Allen an excuse to writhe around nude for a bit). Attracted to him, Pamela asks Haffron if he has twenty minutes, and we cut to the scene in a random bedroom.

The music is the main thing which attracts me to this scene, but there are other things too. The entire act of sex consists of Haffron on top and behind - this is either doggy style or anal sex, it doesn't really matter but I think it's meant to be doggy - with Pamela lying on her front. Haffron's thrusts are quick, deep and repetitive, and - in what's toeing the line between brilliance and insanity - it gets so intense that they end up sliding forwards off the bed, taking the cushions and duvet with them. Pamels places her hands on a plant pot to provide some leverage, and they finish off in the same position, Haffron letting out a breathy moan indicating his orgasm, and they stay lying there for a bit, him still on top of (and presumably inside) her.

It doesn't last very long, to tell the truth. But here's the thing - it's cut pretty well. The sex isn't seen in the right order. It cuts from foreplay to sex to penetration to sex, various angles jumping at you and taking you by surprise. While this could be distracting, it actually works incredibly well, and I'm really not sure the scene would be quite as good if there were no unusual camera work or jump-cuts. And while the whole thing's going on, we get audible breaths from Robinson and Chanra - indicating their characters' lust. We even get some kissing, before and after sex. The movement of bodies, arms and legs is well-conceived, and all in all it's a good scene, outdoing even some of the best ones with Emmanuelle in (although not this one, which is unbeatable).

But the thing that sticks out in my head by a mile is the iconic music. Unlike some softcore music, I haven't seen it used anywhere else (some music makes frequent reappearances, even in different shows). This is one-of-a-kind music which, although not great, fits the mood and setting really well, is very nicely timed with the scene and is incredibly memorable. I can't forget it, and it's an integral part of the scene. Which is actually really nice to see.

So, yeah... a bit incongruous when you consider the continuity of the series, in which he's meant to be gravitating more and more towards a relationship with Emmanuelle, but a hot scene, a good one, and one of the parts of the series that genuinely stands out.