Erik Soya's '17'

Sytten
Cover of the Danish DVD
Directed by	Annelise Meineche
Written by	Bob Ramsing Carl Erik Soya (novel)
Starring	Ole Søltoft, Ghita Nørby
Music by	Ole Høyer
Cinematography	Ole Lytken
Edited by	Edith Schlüssel
Distributed by	Palladium Film
Release date	6 September 1965
Running time	87 minutes
Country	Denmark
Language	Danish

Sytten (English title: Erik Soya's 17) is a 1965 Danish coming-of-age sex comedy directed by Annelise Meineche and starring Ole Søltoft and Ghita Nørby. Søltoft plays a 17-year-old high school student who discovers the youthful excesses of sexual desire during his summer vacation in 1913. Based upon the semi-autobiographical 1953 novel by Carl Erik Soya, Sytten was a financial success for the Palladium Film company and ushered in a wave of erotic films such as the Bedside-films and Zodiac-films, most of which starred Søltoft.

In the summer of 1913, 17-year-old Jacob (Ole Soltoft), a Danish high school student, lives in the frustrating limbo between boyhood and manhood. He worries about his excessive focus on masturbation and, although he is aware of the sexual overtures by the housemaid Sophie (Lise Rosendahl), Jacob doesn't know how to respond to her. Jacob is invited to spend his vacation at the summer house of his wealthy uncle (Ole Monty). At the summer house in an idyllic coastal town, Jacob meets his uncle, aunt (Bodil Steen), free-spirited housemaid Hansigne (Susanne Heinrich), virginal housekeeper Rosegod (Lily Broberg), and his dream-girl cousin Vibeke (Ghita Nørby). He is also pursued by his Uncle's employee (Ingolf David), who tries to seduce Jacob. While the Uncle is off on a fishing trip and the Aunt spends the night in town with her lover, Jacob has his first sexual experience with Vibeke—an awkward encounter. Afterwards, when Vibeke leaves for school, Jacob spends his nights with Hansigne—a joyful, uncomplicated and liberated woman. She guides him through his awkwardness and teaches him erotic techniques. One night, Hansigne's boyfriend Knud (Hugo Herrestrup) catches them together and attacks and threatens Jacob. Jacob discovers he finally feels like a man. In great spirits, he returns home after vacation and prepares to accept the advances of Sophie.

Although Sytten was one of the first mainstream films in Denmark dealing with explicit nudity and sex (along with Jeg en kvinde and Halløj i himmelsengen), the film provoked little controversy within the country. It had been more than ten years since the Danish public was indignant over the publication of Soya's novel as well as other controversial novels by Henry Miller and Agnar Mykle. By 1965, Danish attitudes had changed. In 1964, the state prosecutor had brought a pro forma obscenity case against the publishers of a new translation of Fanny Hill which ended in acquittal. Two years later, Denmark's laws against pornographic literature were repealed, and, in 1969, pictorial pornography was also decriminalized.