''The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak'' (original title ''Gwendoline'') is a 1984 French

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

directed by

Just Jaeckin Just Jaeckin (8 August 1940 – 6 September 2022) was a French film director, photographer, and sculptor. Early life Jaeckin was born in Vichy, Allier, French State during the Second World War, but left with his mother and father for Englan ...

, written by Jaeckin and

John Willie John Alexander Scott Coutts (9 December 1902 – 5 August 1962), better known by the pseudonym John Willie, was an artist, fetish photographer, editor and the publisher of the first 20 issues of the fetish magazine ''Bizarre'', featuring his ch ...

and starring

Tawny Kitaen Julie Ellen "Tawny" Kitaen (August 5, 1961 – May 7, 2021) was an American actress, model, and media personality. She began her career as a television actress, appearing in the television films ''Malibu (film), Malibu'' (1983) and ''California ...

and

Brent Huff Brent Huff (born March 11, 1961) is an American actor, writer and film director. Huff is best known for his recurring role of Smitty in the hit ABC show, The Rookie. He has also had recurring roles in Shameless, Pensacola: Wings of Gold and Black ...

. The film is loosely based on the bondage-themed

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

of Willie and on the character of

Sweet Gwendoline Sweet Gwendoline is the main female character in the works of bondage artist John Willie, first published as a serial, usually two pages at a time, in Robert Harrison (publisher), Robert Harrison's mainstream girlie magazine ''Wink'' from June ...

François Schuiten François Schuiten (; born 26 April 1956) is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series '' Les Cités Obscures''. Biography François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "François Sc ...

worked as a graphic designer for the film.

Plot

Captured by a trio of thieves at a Chinese port, Gwendoline (Kitaen), a courageous but naïve girl, is sold to a local casino-brothel owner, but, rescued by Willard (Huff), a mercenary adventurer, she is reunited with her maid, Beth ( Zabou), after the latter's abduction by the same thieves who had earlier kidnapped Gwendoline. Hired to transport an illegal cargo, Willard reluctantly agrees to take both women with him after Beth, withholding information vital to his livelihood, promises to divulge it only if he becomes their guide. Gwendoline, who has come to China to capture the butterfly that eluded her father, who had staked his professional reputation as a scientist on obtaining the insect, offers Willard $2,000 to take her and Beth with him to the land of the Yik-Yak, in which the butterfly may be found. After escaping from the cannibal tribe of Kiops, the trio find the butterfly, but as she is about to capture it, Beth is captured and Gwendoline and Willard must enter an all-women tribe's underground lair to rescue the maid. The tribe is the vestige of the city of Pikaho, a primary diamond mining centre, which was swallowed by a volcanic eruption in the 12th century. Afterwards, the entire male population perished due to a disease spread by the eruption, and Pikaho turned into an all-women society considered nothing more than a legend. To ensure the survival of Pikaho, its Queen (

Bernadette Lafont Bernadette Lafont (28 October 1938 – 25 July 2013) was a French actress who appeared in more than 120 feature films. She has been considered "the face of French New Wave". In 1999 she told ''The New York Times'' her work was "the motor of my e ...

) allows a victor among them to mate with any man who visits or is captured by the tribe. Aided by Beth and the Queen's henchman, D'Arcy (Jean Rougerie), Gwendoline, disguised as a Pikaho warrior, wins this right. While Gwendoline and Willard make love before the Queen, D'Arcy activates the volcano and he, the Queen, and the citizens of Pikaho are killed as Gwendoline, Beth and Willard escape. In the process, Willard is able to capture the elusive butterfly.

Cast

as Gwendoline *

Zabou Breitman Zabou Breitman (born Isabelle Breitman; 30 October 1959), or simply Zabou, is a French actress and director. She is the daughter of actors Jean-Claude Deret and Céline Léger. At the age of four, she appeared in her first movie. Since 1981, Za ...

as Beth *

as Willard *

as the Queen *Jean Rougerie as D'Arcy

U.S. release

Severin Films Severin Films is an American film production and distribution company known for restoring and releasing cult films on DVD and Blu-ray. History The label was created in 2006 in Los Angeles, and other offices were founded in New York City and Londo ...

has re-released the 88-minute U.S. release of ''The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak'' and has also released a 106-minute ''Gwendoline: Unrated Director's Cut'' based on the French release.

References

External links

* * *
Movie stills
*''The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline'' edited by J.B. Rund.(second edition, revised and enlarged) New York: Bélier Press, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Perils Of Gwendoline In The Land Of The Yik-Yak, The 1984 films BDSM in films French adventure comedy films French action comedy films 1980s adventure comedy films 1980s action comedy films Sexploitation films Films based on British comics Films directed by Just Jaeckin 1980s French-language films Cantonese-language films Films set in China Live-action films based on comics Films shot in the Philippines 1984 comedy films 1980s French films