I a Woman
| I, a Woman | |
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American release film poster
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| Directed by | Mac Ahlberg |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Peer Guldbrandsen |
| Based on |
Jeg-en kvinde (novel) by Agnethe Thomsen (penname: Siv Holm) |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Sven Gyldmark |
| Cinematography | Mac Ahlberg |
| Edited by | Edith Nisted Nielsen Radley Metzger |
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Production
companies |
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| Distributed by | Audubon Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language | Danish |
| Box office |
Swedish krona 2,388,000 (Sweden) $4.5 million (US/Canada) (rental) |
I, a Woman (original Danish: Jeg - en kvinde) is a 1965 black-and-white Danish-Swedish erotic film whose break-through popularity helped initiate a wave of sexploitation films into mainstream American theaters in the late 1960s, and inspired Andy Warhol to write and direct his feature-length experimental film version I, a Man.
Directed by Mac Ahlberg as his feature film debut, and written by Peer Guldbrandsen, the movie was based upon the best-selling 1961 novel Jeg - en kvinde by Agnethe Thomsen written under her pseudonym Siv Holm. The story starred Essy Persson, in her film debut, as a young nurse who breaks free of a repressed upbringing to explore sexual freedom. It also featured established Danish movie stars including Preben Mahrt, Jørgen Reenberg and Tove Maës. The American distribution rights were purchased by Radley Metzger who edited the movie to remove the flashbacks, added English titles and placed it into mainstream movie theaters. Metzger said it was "probably the first feminist erotic film released in the '60s and it pushed a button with every woman in America." By earning more than 4 million dollars in the United States, Metzger credited I, a Woman as the major catalyst for his subsequent success in making pornographic films. Despite poor reviews by mainstream media, the film's box office success encouraged the development of the sexploitation film industry. According to an article in Variety magazine, I, a Woman "freed itself from the ex-ploitation houses, it invaded suburbia and immediately struck paydirt."
The young nurse Siv (Essy Persson) is frustrated by the strict restraints of her religious parents (Tove Maës and Erik Hell) and her boring fiancé, Sven (Preben Kørning). At the hospital where she works, a married antiques dealer named Heinz Gersen (Preben Mahrt) flirts with Siv. Although she is warned that Gersen is a philandering playboy, Siv allows him to seduce her and they have an affair. Gersen tells Siv that he loves her and proposes to leave his wife for her. Having only just discovered a new world of sexual liberty, Siv rejects Gersen's proposal. She then breaks off her engagement with Sven, moves away from her parents and finds a nursing position in another city. Siv meets Lars, a sailor (Bengt Brunskog), and they begin a relationship. When Lars proposes marriage, Siv breaks up with him. Siv begins dating Doctor Dam (Jørgen Reenberg) at the hospital where she works. Dam also falls in love with Siv, so she stops seeing him and decides that no single man will ever completely fulfill her own desires. Siv has a sexual encounter with a stranger named Eric (Frankie Steele) who Siv realizes perfectly matches her own promiscuity. Eric tells Siv that he won't see her anymore because he is afraid that she will fall in love with him.
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Wikipedia