Maquis de Sade's infamous tale of moral depravity gets an arty treatment (not to be confused with Jesus Franco production with Klaus Kinski) by a Brit Chris Boger. Justine and Juliette, two orphaned young sisters get kicked out of convent school full of lusty nuns and a randy pastor. The sisters couldn't be more different- Justine is the epitome of virtue and innocence while Juliette delights in school of flesh. As Juliette skools herself in a brothel in London, Justine goes back to the pastor, gets almost raped, then falls in with thieves and murderers under threat of violation. Juliette chose to live in sin and things are working out for her whereas Justine, the proud and virtuous one, the life is torturous and under constant threat. Sade's philosophy was not only anarchistic in rigid society but also extremely cynical. In Justine, he makes sure the virtues people hold dear get completely destroyed by the end.
Interesting to see even a great DP had a humble start doing softcore porn. Justine has some great visuals rivaling Ken Russell's The Devils, especially in the dream sequence. Cynical and dark. Koo Stark is mind bogglingly beautiful as Justine.
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