MOOD PICTURES
Guilty Wives
Mood Pictures (2004)
Produced and directed by Pedro & Pablo
Written by Pablo
Starring Betty Sweet as Natasha, Eva Padlocki as Nora, Maximilian Lomp as The Judge, Pokémon as Judge's Assistant, Debbie Ulan Ator as Guard
Hungarian with English subtitles
Running time 59 minutes
Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence:
Cheating wives sentenced to the cane
Victim Appeal:
This early Mood title is the first appearance of one Betty Sweet, a blonde Hungarian sexpot with a slender figure and a spectacular, petite arse. As I noted in my critique of "The Auction" (by Elitepain), it was Betty who inspired me to write my first ever spanking video review, five years ago, under another nickname. Then I did a couple more reviews, my writing got me in touch with all the wrong, sinister people, and voilŕ, here I am today, shooting videos myself! Better than any government report, my story illustrates the corruptive force of these films. And in her own way, Miss Sweet helped to set me off. Which goes to show you yet another thing, namely, how superficial and sex-driven men are (as if further confirmation were needed).
The other victim in "Guilty Wives" is a tall, black-haired lass named Eva Padlocki and very pretty in her own right. Nowadays, Mood and Pain4Fem churn out flicks with two, three or sometimes half a dozen girls like that on a monthly basis, but at the time, it was a rarity for anyone but Lupus Pictures. So perhaps my drooling fixation on the eye candy is forgivable. In any case, let's take a look back at this little "relic" and see how it holds up in 2009...
Gratuitous Sadism:
The story is quickly recounted: two young women who have apparently cheated on their husbands stand trial before a judge, the verdict says 50 cane strokes each, commence CP action. According to the opening text, the whole thing takes place in "Syberia, several decades ago...", and there's a big red star adorning the wall in the courtroom. I wonder how those good old-fashioned Siberians ("Syberians"?) treat men who cheat on their wives? Would they get caned, too? How about some socialist gender equality? Ack, never mind. It's just a movie! They didn't really have judicial corporal punishment in the Soviet Union, anyway.
Before this fantasy trial starts, we see the soon-to-be-chastised girls sitting in their cell. After some really lame lines of dialogue between them ("Are you scared, too?", "No, I'm innocent!"), a female guard wanders in. The actress playing the guard is of Asian descent, and she is called "Debbie Ulan Ator" in the credits. That has nothing to do with the plot, of course, but I thought I should still mention it in this review - "Debbie Ulan Ator", how cool is that? Anyway, the guard informs Eva and Betty that she has to search them before they go into the courtroom. A nice excuse for the girls to undress and show off their bodies in the very first scene of the film. We are beginning to look forward to the canings now.
The wives are taken before the judge (Maximilian Lomp). Eva pleads guilty right away, Betty claims that she is innocent and that an attorney will arrive soon to furnish proof (what type of proof, I wonder?). There's some verbal sparring with the judge. It goes back and forth for a while and is all kind of pointless, really. Needless to say, Betty's attorney never arrives, and the judge finds both women guilty. He announces that he will administer the punishments himself. A caning bench is brought in. How convenient for the scriptwriter that they don't seem to have separation of powers between judges and executioners in Siberia.
Gosh, I really am in a nitpicking mood today, aren't I? I'm not dissing the movie, though. As a matter of fact, it is quite amusing to watch. Especially now that we're getting to the action. Eva is the first to be tied over the caning bench - or rather, the caning stocks. I don't know what to call it. It's a strange device and somewhat flimsy, wobbling around while a victim is bending over it. Predictably, Mood Pictures didn't use it again. There's plenty of shaking, of benches and ass cheeks, as Max Lomp dishes out 50 hard cane strokes. Much howling and anguish from Eva to go along with it, too. Then, Betty receives the same treatment, with roughly the same results. Their asses are nicely covered in welts by the time it is over. Girls get dressed, exit, movie ends.
Best Reactions:
Obviously, I have to go with Betty Sweet's caning scene, which is still my favourite of the two. I don't know why I am so infatuated with the girl. Granted, she is beautiful and has an immensely cute, spankable bottom, but that can be said about so many models. As well as that, she has lots of tattoos and facial piercings, which I don't find all that attractive. No, there is something here that goes beyond mere looks and superficial drooling. What I liked about Betty, and still do, is this mix of doe-eyed vulnerability and subtle, sullen defiance about her. In all probability, she simply felt awkward and bored in equal parts during the shoot and couldn't wait to get the paycheck. But she's interesting to watch for sure - the demeanour, the postures, the monotone mumbling.
Moreover, her reactions during the beating are just magnificent. She's in pain and shows it rather clearly, with much crying, grimacing, short loud yelps and writhing of her body. At the same time, she's somewhat restrained and subdued about it, so again, there is this vulnerability with defiance lying underneath. A textbook example of how to make a sadist happy. What is also enjoyable about the scene is the fact that, unlike Mood's later movies with all those mute, robotic dommes, it has a fair amount of conversation between Max Lomp and his victim. Throughout the caning, he keeps talking to Betty and admonishing her. "Cry, comrade, crying will purify you!" "Yes, your honour!" "You weren't crying when you cheated on your husband, were you?" "No, your honour!" That kind of stuff. Not super-original, but it's nice to see a bit of interaction, adding to the eroticism.
Best Line:
At one point during Betty's CP scene, Max Lomp points at the tattoos on her back and asks: "What are these on your body? These drawings do not further the cause of socialist production."
Nice Psychological Touch:
We learn that the judge is so merciless towards "guilty wives" like Eva and Betty because his own wife cheated on him, and perhaps still does. In a flashback sequence, he discovers his wife in bed with a lover. Incidentally, she is also the court stenographer in the other scenes, and she is played by Pokemon, Mood's full-time hairdresser and part-time domme. The DVD also has a bonus "alternate cheating scene", where Pokemon gives the guy in bed a few licks with the cane, amidst howling laughter from the crew. He whimpers like a baby: "Waaah! Waaah!" In the credits, his role appears as "the really strong man in the bed".
Yeah, those sick and evil Hungarian sociopaths again... Shame on me for ever working with such people.
How Good Is It Really?
A good one among the early Mood Pictures videos. I wasn't blown away by it, the way I was back in 2004, but I still like it. I suppose "Guilty Wives" illustrates both the merits and the limitations of eye candy. After seeing countless spanking films with countless beautiful girls, the appeal just fades somewhat - such charms work easily, but they are also easily forgotten. Obviously, you need more to create a classic. On the other hand, once you dig up the DVD again, Eva Padlocki and Betty Sweet are as much lecherous fun to watch as they always were.
The canings, while severe, are not as over-the-top as Mood's later work. They should appeal to viewers who like proper, hard CP action, but not excessive "blood and guts". Also, there is some nice tension between Max Lomp and Betty here.
What You Learned:
I find it interesting to see how some movies stand up well against time while others don't. Of course, it's usually the setting, the atmosphere, the personal chemistry, the model personality that create lasting impressions. But things aren't quite that simple. Look at the first "Wild Party" video by Lupus, for instance. On the face of it, it's a similar case to "Guilty Wives": pretty girls, thrashed very hard, basic setting, rudimentary plot, no real qualities except for the most obvious ones, not much depth below the gorgeous surface... Really, it should look and feel just as dated. But it doesn't. Somehow, for me at least, it remains as strong and potent as the first time I saw it. Why is that? Food for thought for another day.
Hungary is an ancient, vibrant land that evokes many associations. If you're a history buff, you might think about the wars between Christian Europe and the Turks, the Habsburg Empire on the blue Danube, or the fall of the iron curtain in 1989, when the Hungarians were the first to open their borders. If you're into architecture and the arts, you will think of Budapest, the beautiful metropolis with its national gallery and opera house. If you're a gourmet, Hungarian salami, paprika and goose-liver will undoubtedly come to mind.
Or, if you enjoy spanking and CP movies, you will think of "Mood Pictures". Run by two Hungarians named Pedro and Pablo, this young company burst onto the scene in early 2004, and quickly turned out a series of rather spectacular caning videos. When I first discovered their website and saw the previews of their work, it immediately became clear to me that I was looking at a new major player. "Finally" I thought, "we have some competition for Rigid East!" About time, too. Indeed, like their fellow Eastern Europeans from the Czech Republic, Mood Pictures offer a combination of excellent production values, beautiful girls and jaw-dropping severity that few spanking video producers ever achieve. And what's even more remarkable, they started on this high standard with their very first outing, and have been getting better ever since. A case could be made that this is the most flawless introduction on the CP movie scene in recent years (or ever, for that matter).
One caveat, though: these "Mood Pictures" are definitely not for the faint of heart. They are not disturbing or excessively brutal like some Russian productions - the ample behind-the-scenes footage is testimony that these Hungarian girls might not enjoy themselves during the actual punishment, but the overall athmosphere is happy and festive, and all participants seem to be having quite a good time. Also, these are not stale and boring drills, like some of the other "hard" videos out there - on the contrary, Mood Pictures offer a fair share of story, scene setup and eroticism aplenty to go along with the beatings. Nonetheless, we are talking about some very, very vicious canings at the centre of attention here. Those who prefer their spanking action nice and mild will probably find this a turn-off. Those who want to see real welts, real tears and real screams, with some astoundingly pretty girls on the receiving end - well, you could hardly make a better choice.
The newest (as of October 2004) CP production out of Hungary is no exception. In "Guilty Wives", Pedro and Pablo take the viewer to Soviet Russia - "Syberia, a few decades ago", as the opening credits inform us, while ominous, distorted noises hum in the background. Thinking back to "Stalin" from Rigid East, it now seems a common past-time among Eastern European producers to poke fun at their former socialist "mentors" (and who can blame them?). The action opens in a prison cell (a cage with some bunks in it, essentially), where two delinquent girls await their cruel fate. Nora (played by Eva Padlocki) has dark eyes, black hair, made into a ponytail, and pretty, sharp features. The other one, Natasha (Betty Sweet), is blonde and delicate, with short hair and a very beautiful, statuesque face. Those Hungarians sure are blessed with a favorable gene pool (now that Europe is finally growing together, as it should, we will hopefully be able to spread those genes all over the continent - but I'm getting off-topic here...). Natasha has some piercings and tattoos, which I usually find unattractive - but on this girl, the markings look good somehow, rather erotic actually. All in all, it is readily apparent already that this is going to be an entertaining spanking video. By the way, both girls wear casual, rather sexy clothing, which breaks somewhat with the "Syberian prison" theme - but it looks nice, so what the hell.
Lest I forget, all the following dialogue is obviously in Hungarian (although subtitles are provided). And it's a good thing, too, as the Magyar dialect is quite a melodic, interesting one, actually (another practical benefit is that viewers across the globe can hone their language skills here, most prominently with the complete numbers from "1" to "50" in Hungarian - but I'm getting ahead of things).
Nora asks Natasha if she's scared, too. "No, I'm innocent" replies the pretty blonde. "I haven't cheated on my husband." So now we know what the two delinquents are in trouble for. Nora retorts that the judge they are about to face finds all women guilty, regardless of what they have or haven't done. And that he sentences everyone to (you guessed it!) fifty strokes of the cane. This is fortunate from an audience point of view - granted, it's not what you call "humanitarian values", but where would these movies be without some good old-fashioned, arbitrary punishment? So we go with the flow: a female guard enters (played by Debbie Ulan Ator, what a great fake name that is!). And yes, she does wear a uniform, prison theme and all. The guard explains that the trial will start soon, and that no forbidden items must be carried in the courtroom. Therefore, first Nora and then Natasha are ordered to strip naked for inspection. It is a quick scene, the clothes just come off and on again, but the interlude does a neat job of showing off the girls' bodies and building tension for what must inevitably follow. Both women are slender and well-tanned, but Natasha has an especially cute ass: shapely and firm at the same time, model material. Without a doubt, glorious events lie ahead.
Next scene, the courtroom. Behind a podium of sorts sits the judge (Maximilian Lomp, who already swung the cane in two previous Mood installments, "Ancien Regime" and "Rival Girls"). Next to him an assistant, and his wife, as we will learn in due time (played by Pokémon, from "Love Story"). To cut a long story short, dark-haired Nora pleads guilty and goes on her knees (literally) to ask for mercy. This being an unknown word in the Soviet dictionary, none is given, the sentence for cheating her husband pronounced at 50 hard strokes of the cane. Natasha, on the other hand, professes her innocence and claims that a lawyer will soon appear with proof. She repeatedly contradicts the court, protesting that the proceedings are illegal. Needless to say, the judge will have none of it. He refuses to wait for the arrival of this mysterious lawyer, and declares that Natasha will receive 50 strokes as well.
Again, the sequence is well-paced, drawing out the buildup yet staying concise enough not to delay things inappropriately - after all, it is the execution of the sentence which we are looking forward to in a spanking video, not the pronounciation. Still, there is just enough acting and dialogue here to set the right, pleasantly brooding "punishment athmosphere". Finding this balance, between not trying hard enough and trying too hard, is what distinguishes an excellent CP movie like "Guilty Wives" from the merely good ones. There is even a quick, humorous "flashback scene" from the viewpoint of the judge, involving his own, cheating wife, the courtroom assistant. As for Nora and Natasha, they look positively nervous throughout the trial, which is probably a genuine expression in light of the very real chastisement they are about to receive. The judge announces that he will carry out the punishment himself, and without further ado, we move on to the main course.
An SM-furniture "stockade" is moved to the centre of the courtroom, and poor Nora is the first to go over it. She takes off all clothing, then the guard ties her hands and feet to the device, forcing the dark-haired girl to stand in an exposed, bent-forward position. After she is informed that every stroke must be counted aloud, the action begins. What follows is a hard, real caning like we have come to expect it from Mood Pictures. The first few strokes aren't so bad yet, as if the judge still needed to relax his arm a little. But after that short warm-up, he turns up the velocity quite a bit, and no mercy is given anymore. Nora doesn't enjoy it one bit. First she is sobbing, then crying, then howling uncontrollably. With a caning of this severity, there is no need for acting, and indeed there is little doubt that the girl's tears and cries are as real as the growing number of welts on her backside.
Since we're dealing with 50 strokes here, it all takes a while, and the judge uses the time to educate his victim about the Soviet way of life. "You'll remember this verdict forever." "Your husband will be grateful to the court." "You will become an outstanding worker." And so forth. The girl, on her part, can barely respond more than the obligatory "Yes, your honour." Why, she's in so much anguish that even keeping count of the strokes seems quite a challenge under the circumstances! But the judge's remarks are a welcome addition to the quality of the chastisement, and fortunately Mood Pictures manage not to repeat the mistake of some other companies - who overdo it, and end up with more talk and pathetic lecturing than actual caning. Again, the balance here is just right, and the result is another positive in this production.
So the focus stays on the action, and with this sort of severity, how could it not? It's fairly obvious that the actress didn't find it easy to get through the whole ordeal. But to her credit, despite much howling and pleading, she came through. When it's finally over, her ass is covered in angry red stripes from top to bottom, and it's safe to say that the girl wasn't sitting very comfortably for about a week afterwards. Another job well done for Mood Pictures. Now it's time for her blonde companion, who had been watching the first caning with increasing discomfort.
The judge tells Natasha that he is very angry with her. Since she did not only cheat on her husband like the other convict, but also contradicted the court, she will get a very hard punishment. And it shows - after the blonde strips and is tied to the stockade, she is caned even more viciously than the previous girl. Only two dozen strokes, and her ass looks about as well-marked as Nora's did after the whole 50. The judge eases up a bit from then on, all the while admonishing his convict on morality in workers' paradise. But the caning is still hard by any other standard, and he fires off some extremely nasty strokes towards the end again.
The second caning is even better than the first one - actually, it's quite simply one of the best sessions I've ever seen captured in a CP video. Betty Sweet, with her slim, athletic figure, must have one of the most shapely, beautiful butts to ever grace a spanking film. In combination with the high production values and the no-holds-barred severity, it makes for a truly unforgettable scene. As one lively red stripe appears after another, she gasps and quivers and flexes those ass muscles, and it's obvious that our lady is truly impressed. She, too, cries and winces passionately from beginning to end, but never wavers. After all 50 strokes, Betty is deeply bruised, and sitting down soon surely wasn't an option for her, either. In all, it doesn't get any better than this. Not to take anything away from Eva Padlocki, who also did a fine scene and took a beating that most other companies only dream about. Compliments to both girls, then, and to the producers.
The action is recorded by two cameras throughout, one behind the girl being caned, the other one on the side. There is a good variety of shots, mixing wide angles, facial reactions, and closeups of the tortured backsides. The impact of the cane strokes, and the welts developing quickly like red lines on a piece of film, are a joy to behold. Rounding out the DVD are trailers of two other Mood Pictures productions ("Martial Law" and "Rival Girls"), a five-minute behind-the-scenes section, and a hilarious "alternate cheating scene" that has to be seen to be believed.
I daresay that, with "Guilty Wives", Mood Pictures have overtaken Rigid East as the premier producer of caning videos, at least in my book. True, the masters from the Czech Republic still have an edge in sets, costumes, storywriting and everything "art", and they deserve all the praise they get for trying to take CP videos into new, unexplored directions. But when it comes to the core of things, to the actual scenes of chastisement, Mood Pictures are now setting the standard for combining outstanding female beauty with equally impressive severity. For the rest of the world, it will be a tough act to follow.
