Let’s turn up the awkwardness a bit more.
At this point, you’re probably well aware that a lot of what we see in movies isn’t actually true.
Gerard Butler never really had to rescue the president from terrorists (at least, that we know of), and Christian Bale isn’t secretly living a double life as a crime-fighting vigilante… at least, as far as we know.
However, there are some exceptions. Indeed, there are a few non-pornographic films where the actors are genuinely having sex.
Here’s a rundown of non-pornographic movies that have included real sex scenes.
Pink Flamingos (1972)
The first film to include a scene of unsimulated sex was “Pink Flamingos,” arguably the most notorious work of director John Waters.
The movie is described as follows: “A bizarre fat woman (Divine) and her misfit family compete with a Baltimore couple (David Lochary, Mink Stole) to be named the filthiest people alive.”
Although the film doesn’t show full intercourse, it does include a scene where Divine and Crackers (Danny Mills) engage in oral sex.
Making it even more controversial, the two characters were mother and son.
In The Realm of Senses (1976)
The next film to include actual sex scenes is “In the Realm of the Senses,” which centers on an affair between a sex worker-turned-hotel maid and her employer.
This Japanese film received a strong critical reaction upon its release and faced significant censorship and bans due to its explicit content.
The Idiots (1998)
Moving ahead to 1998, real sex made its way back to the cinema with Lars von Trier’s film, “The Idiots.”
This film features an orgy scene and, when it premiered on terrestrial television in 2005 on Channel 4, it sparked a number of complaints to Ofcom.
The Raspberry Reich (2004)
In 2004, “The Raspberry Reich” was released. This film is about a woman who denounces heterosexuality and encourages her male followers to engage in sexual acts with each other.
One critic on Rotten Tomatoes described the movie as ‘a highly awkward blending of gay porn and political satire.’
Despite its content, “The Raspberry Reich” is not classified as pornography.
Shortbus (2006)
Then there’s “Shortbus,” released in 2006.
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell, this erotic comedy also features unsimulated sex scenes.
Mitchell has commented on the real sex depicted in the film and humorously remarked that ‘[people] don’t ask whether I could’ve done Hedwig [and the Angry Inch] without the songs’.
Dogtooth (2009)
The Oscar-nominated film “Dogtooth” sparked considerable discussion upon its release 14 years ago, particularly for its sex scenes.
These scenes were reportedly intended as “a way of showing the kind of relationships that are born out of these levels of extreme isolation.”
“The children are bored to tears in spite of distractions like Christina (Anna Kalaitzidou), an employee of their father’s who makes regular visits to sexually service the son (Hristos Passalis). Increasingly curious about the outside world, the older daughter (Aggeliki Papoulia) hatches a plan to escape.”
Stranger by the Lake (2013)
The latest film to feature real sex scenes is a provocative French movie where the main character, Franck, falls in love with another man he meets at a nudist beach.
Rather than being gratuitously explicit, critics and audiences have noted that the film’s sex scenes serve as “another example of real sex and artistic power coming together.”
This approach suggests a thoughtful integration of intimacy into the narrative, enhancing the film’s artistic expression.
