BY: Amanda Jane Stern

Following up on our list of 10 sexy movies you’ve never heard of, we bring you 5 more that might be even sexier. These films made a splash, each in their own way.

9 Songs

This 2004 movie tracks the relationship between Matt (Kieran O’Brien) and Lisa (Margo Stilley) over the course of several months. The 9 songs of the title refer to 9 concerts the two attend. Director Michael Winterbottom cuts live concert footage into his narrative. The sex scenes were not simulated and the project has been praised for its focus on female sexual pleasure. You can watch 9 Songs on Kanopy.

East Palace, West Palace

Filmmaker Yuan Zhang was put under house arrest by Chinese police for this 1996 movie. His friends smuggled it out of the country so it could be shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Set in an interrogation room, the film follows A Lan (Si Han), a young gay man, as he attempts to seduce the heterosexual police officer Xiao Shi (Jun Hu) who is interrogating him. East Palace, West Palace is not currently streaming anywhere, but you can order the DVD on Amazon Prime.

I Am Curious (Yellow)

This 1967 meta-film follows Lena (Lena Nyman), a young woman, as she experiments with political activism, meditation and sex. Made in Sweden by Vilgot Sjöman, the film was seized by US customs for its explicit sex scenes. It is generally considered to be the first mainstream film to show full-frontal male nudity. What aspect of this film shocked US censors the most? The moment when Lena kisses her lover’s (Börje Ahlstedt) flaccid penis. You can watch I Am Curious (Yellow) on Kanopy or through The Criterion Channel. If you speak Swedish, it is also free on Youtube without subtitles.

Intimacy

Patrice Chéreau’s 2001 film follows Jay (Mark Rylance), a failed London musician, and his affair with the mysterious Claire (Kerry Fox). The two meet weekly for passionate sex, but when Jay begins to want more from Claire their physical relationship is put at risk. This film is notable for being the first film with an unsimulated sex scene to be shown in Great Britain in its entirety. You can watch Intimacy on Kanopy.

Pola X

In this 1999 film by Leos Carax, Pierre (Guillaume Depardieu), a young Frenchman, begins a passionate affair with Isabelle (Yekaterina Golubeva), a mysterious woman. She speaks with an Eastern European accent and claims to be his long-lost sister. Like several others on this list, Pola X has unsimulated sex scenes between the incestuous lovers. You can order a DVD of Pola X on Amazon, or watch it without subtitles on YouTube.