On the alien side Isabel Sarli, becoming a star in his native Argentina, remained virtually unknown outside of it. Which, by the way, is not surprising - after all, she starred only in the films of her husband Armando Bo and only in her native country and some of its neighbors: several films are set in Paraguay, Brazil and even very far from Buenos Aires Mexico. But there are no rules without exception. Once Isabel played the main role in the film, created on another continent, and this film became for her in many ways unique.
First, The Virgin Goddess was released worldwide by American giant Columbia Pictures. Secondly, the film was shot in the genre of fantasy, with which Isabel had previously dealt only once and then fragmentary – in the film “La Embrujada”. For the second time in Coki’s life, she was not filmed by her husband. And finally, the picture, designed for wide distribution and minimal age restrictions, did not allow Sarley to demonstrate his greatest advantages in the whole screen.
As a result, in the film of the South African director Dirk de Villiers, the actress looks unusually constrained on the screen and even the presence on the set of her usual partners: her husband Armando and stepson Victor did not allow Isabel to show herself in all her glory. And age, no matter what, began to affect – on the threshold of the fortieth anniversary to conquer Hollywood Coke was too late. One way or another, “Virgin Goddess” in the filmography of the Argentine woman remained a curious incident, an interesting experience – but nothing more. The free translation of Haggard’s novel “She” turned out to be too bland to interest audiences around the world, the adventures of the heroes were too conditional, and Sarley was never able to reincarnate into the mysterious goddess of the African tribe. Except that the tradition of her films with Armando was observed steadily - no happy endings. But this stroke could hardly attract the audience, accustomed to other finals and unfamiliar with the principles of the Argentines.
Anyway, but to show Coke in all its glory Dirk de Villiers could not. But he managed another – “Virgin Goddess” draws close attention to African rites and traditions. Rituals and dances of the tribe of the White Goddess Majiji take a considerable screen time, filmed with knowledge and look very realistic. Of course, one can argue that the director did not shoot an ethnographic essay, but a fantasy story, but the spirit and atmosphere of this story is largely determined by ceremonial African dances, carefully transferred to the screen by the brown. That is why heroes who have fallen from the rational world to the magical world so easily accept the reality of witchcraft. And the viewer believes in this reality.
But if the characters believe in magic, then the performers of the main roles are not. Victor Bo remains a hero-lover, whose role grew firmly to him along with a naive smile and dog-like sad eyes. And Isabelle the whole film as if out of habit waits for the moment to fall into the arms of his stepson, as it happened in dozens of paintings, and forgets that the heroine is more than five hundred years old - and it is good to at least try to portray something else, except for the pheromones accumulated over the years. But De Villiers did not know the actress as well as Armando Bo knew her, and did not know how to turn her shortcomings into merits. As a result, the image of the White Goddess remained stillborn, and the love affair received no explanation. And development, too.
“Virgin Goddess” could not become anything more than a schematic fantasy film with template characters, which is animated only by chic ethnographic sketches and a memorable image of the evil shaman Makulu, who connected his soul with the virginity of the Goddess and carefully guarded her from any temptations for centuries. Until there was a young man thirsting for great and pure love, who had heard magical legends over a beer, and did not spoil everything.