by Rich Moreland, February 2019
This post on Evil Angel’s Elements is more analysis than review. My congratulations to Misha Cross for directing an outstanding adult film that has a definitive European flavor. It is a delight for the eyes.
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Evil Angel is gonzo at its best. Its directors have a reputation for the hard edge, creating graphic scenes spiced with female hotness that defines a porn genre.
Misha Cross’s Elements lifts this shooting philosophy to new heights. Capturing four scenes through a lens that focuses on earth, wind, fire, and water, Misha’s artistic vision puts the grace of movement and the intensity of raw sex to the test. The result is porn that never forgets its erotic legacy.
The sex scenes feature female pulchritude at its finest. The talents of Cherry Kiss, Tina Kay, Anna De Ville, and Misha herself for the down and dirty are remarkable. We will talk about that in a moment.
But first, we should admire the tease that begins each shoot. It’s porn competing with art.
Beautiful Cinematography
The film’s initial scene with Misha is open fields, horses, and blue skies. Doesn’t every little girl dream of a pony? By the time the kid reaches adulthood, her desires become Freudian and a horse’s “size” is often joked about.
Want proof? Notice how lovingly Misha caresses the horse that plays the scene with her. When the ponies run in the background and Misha waves her sparklers (think Freudian climax here), the sex scene to come could not have a better introduction.
Like Misha’s tease, Cherry Kiss also involves motion captured with beautiful cinematography in hers. She’s on desert terrain in a white gown and diamond jewelry embedded in a body harness with necklace and forehead decoration. Watch for the line of blazing fire on the sand that concludes the scene. Hot in the loins? No doubt.
When it comes to Tina Kay’s turn, a sweeping shot of the ocean leads the viewer to a lagoon where she wades in the water. Misha Cross has a penchant for white in these teaser scenes. Pale fabric that highlights each girl’s nude image leads the viewer to the white room for the sex that becomes an extension of the director’s art. Freud’s love of water and the womb reborn.
Anna De Ville’s final scene changes the game a bit. She’s an acrobat, swinging and weaving on a suspended hoop that is more characteristic of a Vegas floor show than a porn film. But it works beautifully. No open and flowing gown here, Anna is in a body suit and stripper heels.
Camera angles play with her movement. With legs wrapped around the ring, Anna floats and rotates. It’s a dreamlike vision that undulates with the industrial music that frames it.
Freud would be proud.
Oral and Anal Experts
Each of the sex scenes responds to its tease setup.
Most of the penetrations are anal, but vaginal is not ignored. The third scene featuring Tina Kay is the most extreme. For the viewer who enjoys a little fun with slaps, spanks, gagging, nose pinching, and the like, it’s a must see. There is even a brief head dunking in a bathtub (remember water is the theme of this scene) to flavor the action. Tina smiles through it all.
All of the scenes run through the formulaic porn positions—mish, doggie, cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, and spoon. The girls wear heels which ratchets up the slut value of each shoot. For bush aficionados, there isn’t much here to admire, however. On the other hand, if you’re a fan of the clean-shaven, then you’ve got a lot to look at. Yes, Misha has a just a touch of hair and Cherry has a modified landing strip, but Tina and Anna have gone totally bald.
Overall, pretty sexy stuff I’d have to say. The girls are oral and anal experts (this is Evil Angel, after all) with bodies to die for. Of course, some variety of the facial rules the end of each shoot; that should be no surprise. Having said that, watch for an interesting deviation when Emilo Ardana pops for Anna!
AVN Honored
Elements is a foreign production shot in Germany and Spain by a director who is a native of Poland. From my personal experience with European adult film, folks across the pond know how to turn the porn shoot into elegance personified with cinematography that sometimes surpasses its American cousin.
As an actress, Misha Cross received major noms in several categories at this year’s AVN Awards including foreign female performer of the year (which she has won twice, by the way). Her nom for best solo-tease performance in Misha in Exile stands out as the finest in its category, at least in my opinion. It is spectacular and she’s carried that talent over to Elements.
Dan Miller of AVN reports that “with nature as the backdrop, Cross set out to accentuate the beauty and strength of her female subjects in Elements without skimping on the hardcore.”
AVN’s managing editor also adds that Misha sees her art as a combination of hardcore and erotica. I could not agree more. But that’s not the whole story. Misha’s compadre Samantha Bentley worked with her on the soundtrack to give the entire film a music video feel.
By the way, don’t skip the BTS in this film. My kudos to Misha Cross for her social statement with her August Ames t-shirt. Further praise is due the Polish filmmaker for demonstrating what is more evident in porn everyday: industry directors and videographers can produce a mainstream quality product. The porn world is leaving its underground roots and moving closer to Hollywood.
A note to viewers. In order of appearance, the male performers in Elements are: Ramon Nomar, Erik Everhard, Chris Diamond, and Emilo Ardano.
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