After the titillatingly groovy sexy title song "Emmanuelle, Emmanuelle, Emmanuelle goodbye" sung by a husky-voiced Jane Birkin, along with Serge Gainsbourg it simply stays in your head long after the credits have rolled. Oh it's a hard one to shake off. The third feature of the official French "Emmanuelle" series is a step-down from the previous two entries starring Sylvia Kristel as Emmanuelle, mainly on its concentration for the story dramatics than the sexual context. That's not a bad thing, because is a perfectly realized story. Much more grounded, but quite reflective and still adventurous in more ways than one. The erotica is tastefully done, as the sex scenes are watered-down and briskly concluded, but it still has Emmanuelle with her swinging husband openly experimenting with their sexual desires. However how this one changes, is now Emmanuelle begins to question/or have second thoughts about this free-spirited lifestyle her husband encouraged when the arrival of a film director gains her interest. What starts off as a curiosity with the stranger becomes a lot more, where Emmanuelle and her husband rock-solid relationship of keeping no secrets begins to show cracks --- and jealously rears its ugly head.Director Francois Letterier beautifully scenic direction of a pristine Seychelle is elegantly captured and presents a strikingly lush local flavour. The exotic music score is melodic, fitting the mellow tone. The performances are perfectly etched as the enticingly stunning Sylvia Kristel (a true goddess) shows not only she has a seductress pull, but can carry a film with a strong liberated performance. Umberto Orsini and Jean-Pierre Bouvier are solid too.

"Goodbye Emmanuelle" is considered by many to be the last "official" entry in the "Emmanuelle" series. This time around, the action shifts to the beautiful and exotic Seychilles Islands, where the lovely and sexually liberated Emmanuelle finds herself questioning her beliefs about sex, and about love. This elegantly filmed third installment begins like the others, with the architect's wife meeting and having sexual encounters with the attractive cast of men and women on the island. Before long however, the film shifts gears, when a young and extremely handsome film director enters the picture, and awakens in Emmanuelle, some feelings that she thought had long ago been buried. "Goodbye Emmanuelle" is the perfect final chapter in the series, wrapping everything up in a smart, believable way. This moral fable makes the point that open relationships, complete with anonymous sex, can become a very lonely and sad way to live. Emmanuelle begins to realize that her husband's guise of carefree sexuality, is merely a way to hide his own insecurities. When put to the test, he fails miserably, by resorting to petty lies and games to hold onto the woman, that he realizes too late, really loves and depends on. If this does not sound like the storyline for an erotic film, it is because this is not really an erotic film. The sex scenes are kept to a minimum, and when there is an erotic scene, the camera does not linger for long. In fact, these scenes appear to have been a mere after-thought, taking a back seat to the more serious drama at hand.Viewed as a stand-alone feature, "Goodbye Emmanuelle" plays like a slightly above-average melodrama, it's gorgeous cinematography elevating it a cut above the rest. But when viewed in context with the other two films in the series, this becomes something very special indeed. For during these three very different films, we see this character "Emmanuelle" evolve continually. In the first chapter, Emmanuelle is a young and innocent girl, with somewhat traditional views on sexuality and marriage. She is taught, by various friends about open marriage, and carnal desire. In part 2, Emmanulle has traded her short, severe hairstyle, for a long, flowing mane of red hair, indicating her newfound "freedom." Viewing these two films back to back, it is amazing how different she is in the second installment. By the time she settles down in the Seychilles with her husband, she has changed yet again, and she no longer carries herself with the same air of self confidence. Rather, she appears to be uncertain about the direction of her life. Perhaps Sylvia Kristel was not given enough credit for her acting abilities. She carries these films alone, and does an unforgettable job lending this fictional character an authenticity seldom seen in film. For fans of the series, "Goodbye Emmanuelle" is a must-see. Of the three films, (or four if you include Emmanuelle IV) is the most understated, and most elegantly-filmed of the series. For a change, many will notice that the men are attractive here as well as the women. The whole cast is in fact quite beautiful. It is a somewhat rare title, but the DVD from the Netherlands is the highest quality edition available, presented in a gorgeous 2;35 aspect ratio, and featuring the original French audio. It is the only way to watch these special films.

Erotic and exotic film set in the Seychelles starring gorgeous Sylvia Kristel as 'Emmanuelle', the sexual adventuress.When Emmanuelle's open marriage allows her to meet and fall in love with island visitor 'Peter' (Jean-Pierre Bouvier), she begins drifting away from her husband and into her new lover's arms. Things get complicated when Emmanuelle's husband objects and tries to separate the two causing them to fall deeper in love. Very pretty film with breath-taking scenery and nice tropical music is one of the better 'Emmanuelle' offerings.Beautifully directed by Francois Letterier.

This movie is probably the most unpopular of 1970's French "Emmanuelle" series because it is definitely the least erotic. The sex scenes are all pretty brief and tame (especially compared to its immediate predecessor "Emmanuelle 2"). After actually looking attractive in the first sequel, Sylvia Kristel is back to her tomboy, uber-European look. The supporting female cast meanwhile doesn't begin to compare to the likes of Laura Gemser and Catherine Rivet (the voluptuous Charlotte Alexandra from "Immoral Tales" is featured but is pretty much wasted in a few throwaway scenes). Frankly, the sexiest thing about this movie is actress/singer Jane Birkin's voice in the catchy theme song (dueting with husband Serg Gainsbourg), but she is not actually in the movie.On the other hand, this is the only "Emmanuelle" movie ever to approach what some might call reality. In this movie the Emmanuelle character actually tires of her boorish, jaded husband and all the menage a trois and swinging affairs with other men that he pushes her into, more for his pleasure than hers. She is taken aback when she sees a young black girl, who they earlier had a threesome with, after she has been beaten by her clueless but jealous husband, and she finds her own husband's latest would-be blonde conquest vapid and unappealing. She begins an affair with a young film director and actually falls in love. Jealously then rears its ugly head, as her husband finds out and tries to sabotage the relationship. I won't give away the ending, but you could probably guess it from the title.It's rare (and some would say foolhardy)to make a sex film that realistically deals with real-life, and potentially depressing, issues like this. In a way this film kind of marked the end of the "free love" era of the 60's and 70's. That is not to say that this is a good or serious film compared to say "Last Tango in Paris", but for this series. . .well, it's worth seeing if you don't mind trading some of sex for a little bit of reality.