In case you didn’t know (which does not come exactly as surprise), at the moment, there is a relatively vibrant erotic film ‘industry’ in Mongolia, which started to pick up attention during the lockdowns, and continues strongly, as the fact that the present film is handled by Mongol Distribution eloquently highlights. “Sex and Secret” is an erotic film at its base, but the director definitely tries to do something more with the genre.
Dulguun is a girl with two faces. During the day, she retains a relationship with her boyfriend, Adilaa and in general lives a relatively normal life. During the night though, and in the instigation of her friend Anya, she transforms into something completely different, spending time in nightclubs and having sex with people she barely remembers. Her boyfriend, who does not know what is happening exactly, does not approve of her relationship with Anya, but nothing seems to deter Dulguun from continuing her nightlife. A series of events, though, bring something completely different to the fore.
Vlad Ankhaa directs an erotic film that differs significantly from the many in the category. For starters, the erotic scenes are not that many, but are quite long instead, in an approach that works quite well in terms of titillation. Furthermore, apart from the erotic aspect, the visuals, courtesy of DP Enkhbayar Enkhtur, follow neo-noir paths, which are eventually transformed into an avant-garde approach close to the end, which turns the movie completely into a psychological thriller. Lastly, the club scenes, which frequently function as music-video like sequences, add even more to the visual flair here.
The twist is also well-implemented in the narrative, essentially providing the catalyst for the movie becoming something more than an erotic one, with Temuulen-Enkh Batbayar’s editing being quite accomplished in the particular aspect, and the overall pace of the movie, which is fittingly fast. Granted, combining all these elements in a film of 50 minutes does appear too ambitious on occasion, but in the end, and considering the nature of “Sex and Secret”, it is easy to say that this approach works well in entertainment terms.
The erotic scenes are particularly steamy, a sense heightened by their length and also the quite appealing protagonists, Burte-Setsen Enkhbold as Dulguun and Odonchimeg Delgerkhanai as Anya, with the two also participating in a rather memorable lesbian scene. The latter is quite good in a role that has her transforming a number of times, in a performance that is definitely on a higher level than what is usually the case in similar films.
It its 50 minutes, “Sex and Secret” manages to be both titillating and intriguing, with Vlad Ankhaa showing the signs of a filmmaker that could direct a rather accomplished erotic thriller in the future.
