Erotic drama Emmanuelle returns after 50 years, critics call it 'a big disappointment'

A remake of the classic erotic drama Emmanuelle is returning after 50 years. The movie once shocked audiences around the world with its steamy scenes, but the remake of this French film has become a big disappointment, critics say, reports The Daily Mail.The cult 1974 soft-core hit starring Sylvia Kristel follows the erotic adventures of a young French woman who travels to Bangkok, Thailand to expand her sexual capabilities.Directed by Just Jaeckin, the movie caused quite a stir, with millions flocking to see Kristel, who was featured on a poster half-naked with a string of pearls dangling from her chest.Its lead actress, Kristel, became famous also for her steamy nude scenes in 40 other films, starring in movie versions of Lady Chatterley's Lover and the World War I spy drama Mata Hari.But the latest version, directed by Audrey Diwan and starring French actress Noémie Merlant, tells a reimagined story of Emmanuelle's sexual awakening during a trip to Hong Kong.But in the age of MeToo, Diwan's version, which premiered at the San Sebastian International Festival in Spain over the weekend, appears to have moved away from its raunchy sex scenes, seeking to move female sexuality and pleasure away from the male gaze.In an interview with The Times, Diwan said this movie is "about how we treat pleasure in our society, not just sexual pleasure," discussing the film's lack of explicit sex scenes. “If people want to see sex scenes, they have the Internet,” she said.But as reviews of this movie roll in, the consensus is that the long-awaited remake of the French erotic drama “can be considered a disappointment from Divan,” Variety reports.It notes that “the most striking departure from the 1974 movie is the considerable reduction in sexual content,” adding that, “saying something fresh and relevant about female desire while doing justice to the film’s defining spirit—tacky, transparent prurience—is a difficult, potentially impossible task.”