Probably no film that has been selected in FILMADRID has so much sex –and it would be a harsh competition. Spoken and read sex, we mean. The prestigious Austrian documentary filmmaker Ruth Beckermann stages an audition in which several dozen men read fragments and dramatizations of the novel Josephine Mutzenbacher (1906), a classic of erotic literature attributed to Felix Salten (the author of Bambi, by the way). In a minimalist setting presided over by a luxurious fin de siècle sofa, volunteers of very different ages and conditions sit in front of the lens and lend their voices to the controversial narration of a prostitute who discusses in depth her extensive sexual curriculum. The collective reading and listening allows all these men to express their opinions on the text and reflect on their own positions on sexuality. Beckermann, the only woman we hear in the entire film except for the fictional Josephine, participates in this listening outside the frame and does not fail to raise questions that leave her volunteers on the ropes. Does the novel participate in a patriarchal ideology? Is everything permitted in art? To what extent can we judge the works of the past with the eyes of the present? Are there inherently masculine sexual behaviors? Do different generations of men harbor different types of fantasies? We probably won't get simple, straightforward answers, but perhaps, as Beckermann seems to be telling us, the important thing is to sit back, relax... and enjoy. GABRIEL DOMÉNECH