Cries of ecstasy and clothes torn off in a fit of passion are not what you would normally expect to come out of the European Commission. But its steamy clip of famous sex scenes has scored a surprise hit on YouTube - as well as grunts of displeasure from Polish politicians.
The 40-second film is a sequence of love scenes in European cinema taken from films such as Breaking the Waves and Amelie. It shows couples getting it on in toilets, in kitchens and more traditionally, in the bedroom, with a heady soundtrack that crescendos into all-out screams of pleasure.
Hitting the spot
"Since we put it on YouTube in February, we've had over 270,000 visitors and top ratings," Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr beams.
The clip is part of a series of four short films currently being screened in European cinemas to promote MEDIA, the EU Commission's support programme for film and television. The others illustrate friendship, joy and sadness.
"With these clips, we want to show that we can be proud of European cinema with directors such as Bertolucci and Almodovar. European films travel across borders thanks, I believe, to the very strong emotions they portray."
Offensive?
Online punters might be lapping it up, but not the more conservative elements in Polish politics.
Polish members of the European Parliament, including Maciej Giertych and Marcin Libicki, are reportedly "offended" by a short gay sex sequence, which they say undermines Catholic values.
| What the EU does for cinema Half of the European films you watch in cinema are shown with the support of MEDIA. MEDIA supports the distribution of 9 out of every 10 feature films in Europe that are distributed outside their originating country. 2.5 million cinema-lovers watch over 15,000 European screenings in more than 100 festivals funded by MEDIA. Every year 300 new European film projects are supported by MEDIA. |
While Mr Selmayr was visibly pleased at all this publicity for the Commission, some viewers of the clip have poured scorn on the project.
"It was just a matter of time before the EU found a new way of humiliating itself," wrote one YouTube visitor. Another writes, "These propaganda videos are just a waste of money."
Regardless of the criticism, it is clear that this is one of the few occasions when the EU Commission has managed to turn Europeans on - not off.
Tags: almodovar, bertolucci, Breaking the Waves, catholic, Commission, couples, embraces, European, gay, orgasm, orgy, Poland, Selmayr, Sex, sexy, steamy, YouTube