Felicity (1978)

Felicity is a time capsule of late-’70s erotic cinema that’s more curious than crude, using its taboo setting—a remote Catholic boarding school—and a young woman’s restless imagination to create a hazy, sunlit mood of longing, rebellion, and self-discovery. Director John D. Lamond shoots the journey with a dreamy, travelogue sensuality as Australia gives way to a neon Hong Kong that feels both alluring and a little dangerous, the kind of place where desire and naiveté collide. Glory Annen carries the film with an open-faced intensity that makes Felicity’s awakening feel less like shock value and more like a portrait of someone trying to turn fantasy into lived experience. It isn’t for everyone—its attitudes are very much of its era and the nudity is frank—but if you’re on the fence and curious about cult Australian cinema that treats eroticism as atmosphere and character rather than just mechanics, this one has a strange, persuasive pull.

Felicity is aiming for a coming-of-age sexual awakening wrapped in Catholic-school repression and a glossy “forbidden world” travelogue, and you can see the intention to be provocative and liberating for its era. The problem is it often plays less like a thoughtful drama and more like a string of softcore vignettes, with thin character work and a male-gaze heaviness that can make the “curiosity” feel staged rather than emotionally earned. If you’re looking for nuanced romance, authentic queer storytelling, or anything resembling modern sensitivity around consent and exploitation, this will likely feel dated and a bit grubby. That said, if you can accept it as a 1970s Ozploitation curiosity with some atmospheric Hong Kong locations and an unashamedly pulpy tone, it may scratch that retro-erotic melodrama itch.