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Part documentary, part early form of mockumentary, I Am Curious (Yellow) was part of the emerging new wave of Swedish cinema in the late 1960s. Originally conceived as a 3 and a half-hour epic, the film was split into two companion films named Yellow and Blue, after the colours of the Swedish flag.
The film tells the story of Lena, as she goes on a journey of self discovery, followed by a film crew. With the director Sjöman documenting himself, documenting Lena. Lena builds an archive of her life, and her discoveries, as the film explores social and political themes of the period. Blurring the lines between fact and the fictional life of Lena, through interviews with people on the streets, and even an interview with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., while he was on a visit to Sweden. The film's frank portrayal of Lena's sex life caused controversy on the film's release. With graphic nudity and simulated sexual intercourse and oral sex, the film came to the attention of the censors. |
Though I Am Curious (Yellow) is a stand alone film, it is best viewed alongside I Am Curious (Blue), as the companion film fills in the narrative of the first. One making sense of the other. I Am Curious (Yellow) is the most well known of the two films, and is a film very much of its time. The controversy that surrounded it may seem an over-reaction when views through contemporary eyes. But it is an important film, not only of Swedish and to a larger extent European arthouse cinema, but as a snap-shot of the counterculture and socio-political movement of the late 1960s. And it is for that reason, rather than the infamy that surrounded the film, that it is deserving of its status as one of the key cult films of its period.
