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Marília (Rossana Ghessa), a pretty woman with lesbian leanings, leaves the big city (São Paulo) for the country (Rio Bonito), maybe to change her life, to breathe fresh air… In the beginning of the film, we see her already established in Rio Bonito. She is the English teacher of the local school and also the girlfriend of a moody farmer, Rodolfo (Anthony Steffen) that lives nearby. One of her students, Rose, likes her very much, but Rose is also the girlfriend of Lauro, one of the ranch hands of Rodolfo. And one morning, when Rose is strolling through the woods, she meets two girls camping near a waterfall - they love each other, making love under the waterfall is one of their treats. In spite of the idyllic scenery, we feel that something is in the air, something is brewing. And then... we are introduced to other characters – Renata (former lover of Marília) arrives without a warning in Marília's house. Renata (Fatima Leite) is followed by her blind and cynical husband, Arturo (Marcos Wainberg). And to add flavor to the story, someone starts murdering all the women that have some kind of relationship with Marília.Who is the killer? Renata, doing it to have Marília for herself? Or Rodolfo, who also wants Marília for himself? Maybe Lauro (Rose's boyfriend)? Lauro takes part in bloody rituals in which he beheads chicken. Lauro, an executioner fighting for righteousness? And the other women in Marília's life? Is one of them prowling around? And what about Arturo, Renata's blind husband? What role does he play in this story? Is he really blind? Or…? When the first body is discovered, the police step in to investigate the murder. Others will happen."Momentos de prazer e agonia" (Moments of pleasure and agony) is a Brazilian erotic giallo. But as a thriller, the films fails miserably - the murder scenes are primitive, abrupt and are unable to build up the suspense, in other words, the suspense is almost nonexistent. Still there's a light sense of mystery and strangeness pervading the film. In reality the film's strong point is the eroticism (pretty women, sex scenes indoors and outdoors, lots of nudity). And to add still more pleasure to the viewer, the film was shot in beautiful natural locations (green woods, waterfall, a rocky basin near the waterfall in which girls like to bathe naked…).This was one of the last films of the Italo-Brazilian Anthony Steffen. Rossana Ghessa who costars with him (she also co-produced and co-directed the film), was during the 70s and early 80s an important pornochanchada actress. "Momentos de prazer e agonia" is a gialloish pornochanchada (this is the name given to the Brazilian erotic comedies/dramas made in the 70s/80s). The film was made on a low budget (consider it a b or c-movie) and curiously enough one can say that "Momentos de prazer e agonia" is a soothing thriller (women, nature… and a soundtrack that most of the time is soft and caressing). When a murder is about to happen, the soundtrack changes and drums start beating wildly - a prelude to violence and fear. As I said before, the murder scenes were not filmed with that Italian refinement, so no much suspense here. Among the murders there will also be the mandatory homage to Hitchcock's Psycho! Pretty women surrounded by a land of green and by the blue of sky and waters, all of it peppered by the red of murder – if you like the description, maybe you'll like the film too.
