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45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic, February 4, 2005
This was one of the most notorious movies of the 20th century--references to it even made Mad Magazine in the 1970s, surely proof of its universal reputation as forbidden cultural fruit.
It shows frontal nudity, simulated sexual intercourse, and, probably most shockingly at the time, the lead actress Lena (also the name of the character) kisses her lover's (flaccid) penis--in a kind of tender, funny way . . . her gesture is far removed from pornographic imagery, believe it or not.
But the sexual aspect of the movie, which was no doubt responsibile for the fascination it exerted on the American public imagination of the late 1960s and 1970s, has been long ago superceded by standard film fare.
Is the movie still worth watching? Absolutely. The main point of the movie is showing the difference between young Lena's poltical and social views, which are amusingly portrayed as idealistic and Left wing, with her approach to her own love life--which is ferociously traditional. Lena passionately marches against the Vietnam War, protests against Franco's Spain, and interviews inarticulate middle-class functionaries, putting them on the spot (is this where Michael Moore got his idea for ROGER AND ME?) about the injustice of the Swedish class system. All this is expected, and would almost be a cliche if it wasn't handled with such humour by the director. But we simultaneously watch her personal life develop, particularly her love life, and here she acts according to a very different set of values--despite her belief in the power of non-violence in politics, she points a rifle at an unfaithful lover and seems ready to shoot him. This satire is extended and very well done.
There are also many aspects of the movie, related specifically to the time, which actually enrich the experience for viewers watching in the 21st century. For example, Olaf Palme makes an extended cameo appearance as a young junior government minister; this is the same man, of course, who rose to become Swedish Prime Minister and was later assassinated with a .44 magnum while walking one evening with his wife, in a crime that was never solved.
On the whole, aside from cheerfully and amusingly portrayed sex that seems almost naive and innocent in today's terms, the film succeeds in asking enduringly relevant questions about the inter-relationship between private behaviour and public political beliefs. In Sweden, they may have been the stuff of effective satire, as in this movie; in the USA of the same period, the same basic dynamics played out very differently in the strange scene that unfolded in San Francisco, New York, and places like Chicago and Michigan: full of political rage, drugs, sexual experimentation and--ultimately--violent crimes.
The mixture of deliberate and accidental elements in the movie (including its historical context) add a subtle, foreboding quality that enhances the satirical, sexy and intelligent tone. I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW) is an early, and still insightful, movie about Western society and culture. Highly recommended.
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42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
the best way to see these films, March 13, 2003
By A Customer
There is no better news for film fans than to see that one of your favorite movies has been chosen to be part of the Criterion Collection. "I Am Curious", yellow and blue, have been given the king's treatment with this release. The picture has been totally restored, and the films sparkle with vibrant black-and-white contrast. The audio is even more impressive, with nary a hint of distortion, crackle, or hiss. As to be expected, there are an extensive number of bonus materials dealing with the extreme controversy surrounding the films and their viewing in the United States. More a patchwork of social and sexual commentary than a traditionally narrative story, "I Am Curious" seems to exude a pulse and liveliness all its own. There is spontaneous humor, drama, and intense poignancy to be found within the running times of these two films, as well as a rather mind-expanding look into the social situation of 1960's Sweden. While the films are certainly notorious for their then-daring scenes of sexuality and frontal nudity, that aspect is really only a small piece of a big pie. Sadly, as is often the case, the films were totally taken out of context in the U.S., where they were successful solely on being perceived as sex films instead of intelligent social commentary. Still, if it weren't for the sex controversy the films garnered, I don't imagine that there would be this wonderful Criterion dvd to watch and learn from. Definitely groundbreaking, "I Am Curious" truly lives up to the Criterion motto of "important classic and contemporary films". If you've seen them before, you'll know how good they look in this presentation. If you are simply curious to know what all the fuss was about, these two discs and the accompanying booklets will leave you feeling like a film scholar. Recommended for those interested in film history, censorship, obscenity laws, or simply movies that offer something unusual and thought-provoking.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Satisfy your curiosity regardless of color in the privacy of your own home, March 18, 2006
Buy our film, the only film
In two versions: one yellow, one blue!
Buy the yellow, buy the blue,
Buy our film `cause it is two!
The same, but different, that's true
True, not mellow
Blue and yellow
This is the yellow version!
Buy the yellow version!
The other day a friend said during a conversation that she was curious and I immediately asked if she was yellow or blue? She had no clue what I was talking about and maintained she had never heard of the 1967 Swedish import "I Am Curious Yellow" or its counterpart "I Am Curious Blue." It was the former, "Jag är nyfiken - en film i gult," that was at the center of one of the most celebrated obscenity cases of the late 1960s. The film was seized by Customs because of nudity and explicit sex, although the politics were probably the most controversial part of the film. The following year director Vilgot Sjöman released "Jag är nyfiken - en film i blått," which offers essentially the same characters but with different scenes and a different political focus. The significance of yellow and blue is that those are the colors of the Swedish flag, and there is no doubt that these films would resonate quite differently for a Swedish audience in the late 1960s than they would for an American audience then or now.
"I Am Curious Yellow" focuses on Anna Lena Lisabet Nyman, who has reached the age of twenty and is curious about everything in life. Her apartment is the "Nyman Institute," and during the film she experiments with everything from political activism to sex. Lena spends the first part of the film interviewing people on the street about the class system in Sweden (Is there one? Is it a good thing? Why speak Swedish if you are not Swedish?), before she moves on to other issues and other people (both Olaaf Palma and Martin Luther King, Jr. are interviewed). Periodically the frame is overwhelmed by subtitled (in Swedish) interjecting some humor into the proceedings and other times we see the filmmaker and his crew making the film. Some scenes are clearly more "real" than others, but such judgments are totally subjective and clearly part of the mind games Vilgot is playing with his audience (is the director part of a triangle with the two main actors or is he playing a character who is involved with the characters? Or both?).
As for the sex, maybe I blinked at the wrong point but I do not see how it would be considered explicit. The nudity might be explicit, but this is not a porno film (at least not by the XXX standard, which is why you will never seen Criterion Collection edition of "Behind the Green Door" or "Deep Throat"). Except for being filmed in black & white and not having an obnoxious soundtrack, it reminded me more of the sort of soft core scenes that are a staple of late night on cable movie channels; to wit, I think they are faking it. When Lena's boyfriend Börje (Börje Ahlstedt) tries to make love to her standing up, she announces this will not work. The couple stumble around with their pants around their ankles and eventually manage to put a bed together. Facing each other on their knees they proceed as if the mechanics are an improvement over standing up. We also have the first of several cut aways that defuse the situation. So I did not see any explicit sex and what I was paying attention to was their inelegant fumbling rather than the scene's eroticism.
"I Am Curious Blue" shifts the focus to slightly different elements in Swedish culture, such as the penal system and religion. Lena and Börje have become more domestic this time around, but the times are a-changin', which produces a decidedly different set of tensions in the second film. It is the lesser of the two, not only because it is privileged second, but because of the fusion of politics and sex is toned done considerably. Besides, it is "Yellow" that was the biggest grossing foreign film in the U.S. for the next quarter century until "Il Postino" and "La Vita è bella."
As you would expect, the Criterion Collection extras are solid. The "Yellow" disc has an interview with publisher Barney Rosset and attorney Edward de Grazia regarding the legal case, although you want to check out "The Battle for I Am Curious - Yellow" covering the whole mess first. There are also choice excerpts from the trial transcript to read from the likes of Norman Mailer and others. Director Sjöman filmed an introduction and comments on several key scenes. However, the excerpts from a 1992 documentary on him on the "Blue" disc are less that flattering, especially compared to the text of a 1968 interview conducted on the eve of the controversy in the U.S. in the liner notes. The deleted scene is utterly superfluous.
Ultimately, the film is more interesting than the controversy, but sort of by default because clearly a film making an explicit political critique is going to have inherent social value and is going to appeal to more than prurient interests (the latter will find minimum gratification here any how). These films are provocative, but the depth, dear reader, might be more in us than in what Sjöman hath wrought. There is so much going on that you should be able to construct your own meaning and given the title shared by the two films perhaps that is what we are supposed to be doing. Ironically, talking about the films, either in federal court or around a kitchen table, is more interesting than watching them.
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