Bliss(1997), Movie Review

"Bliss" is a wonderful and inspiring movie that addresses a very important and yet sensitive issue in modern life. Joseph and Maria are the perfect young married couple or so it seems from the opening scene of the movie but very quickly they discover that unfortunately there is a problem in their relationship. It seems they are not having successful sex. Joseph is upset to learn that Maria has been faking her orgasms and this drives a wedge between them.

Joseph is trying to understand what he can do to solve the problem and save their marriage. To his astonishment Joseph discovers by chance that Maria has been visiting a local Tantric sex therapist who is well known for his frequent "meetings" with a lot of women. Carried by his emotions of jealousy and anger Joseph decides to visit this man and soon he discovers a new world which changes his life and gives a totally new and radical point of view about sexuality and his life.

The Tantric sex therapist, named Balthazar, introduces Joseph to the world of Tantra and shocks him by teaching him the secrets of Tantra and opens the door for Joseph to learn that lovemaking for men is much more than the common short sex sessions that most men know, the popularized Hollywood style, short lovemaking which ends when the man dissipates quickly his sexual energy and loses his power and vitality. All this without the woman or himself really reaching deep satisfaction. Attention here - this applies to some very important teachings in Tantra yoga that has been kept secret for centuries.

According to great Tantrics and Yogis, the process of orgasm for man is an art form really, that should be studied. The secrets of retention and conscious sexuality can lead to true pleasure and even deep psychological positive changes and eventually even spiritual evolution. This is done by learning various techniques of breathing and different postures that actually can be learned in a matter of weeks or months and thus make available for men the control over their sexual prowess and even experience multiple orgasms which will be much more sublime and beneficial for themselves and also for their sexual partner. This is just scratching the surface of the story of tantra which is unknown or sometimes even ignored by many people in modern life, and rarely presented in cinema. That is exactly what makes “Bliss” such a unique movie.

Late on in the movie “Bliss”, we find that Joseph soon starts to practice these techniques and slowly learns to discover how to make his lovemaking experiences with Maria much more rewarding and beneficial for her especially after they both find out that Maria was sexually abused as a child by her father and that lead to her present frigid and frustrating condition.

The conclusion of this movie is special and brings hope into a topic which is not addressed much in cinema today, actually "Bliss" is a rare movie in this way, since no other Hollywood movie in the last 10-15 years has tried to address the issue of Tantra so openly and furthermore it shows how so many problems in modern life could be solved wonderfully by learning the secrets of Tantra and improving the sex life and so transforming it into a spiritual path.

Final verdict: 3.5/5

Written by Udi and Moses.