Like "Emmanuelle, "Joys of a woman" wallows in pseudo-philosophy while displaying a lot of aroused women seeking satisfaction… The setting is Hong Kong, where Emmanuelle is taken through the high-life of the aristocrat…

In Jack Jaeckin's first film, Emmanuelle was sexually reserved, and came out as she discovered her hidden sexuality… In the sequel, she explores further into the erotic domain—especially other women—in trying to find the perfect lover…

The characters are not real, but ethereal, dream-like creatures floating through life… This quality actually works quite well as Sylvia Kristel encounters other women… The eroticism is soft and sensual… When she confronts a man, however, there is a feeling only of performance… It's much more sharply refreshing and keen… The male lovers never seem to be as compassionate or as feeling as the women, nor are their characters as developed…

The photography is quite rich and luxuriant, and has captured a postcard view of modern Hong Kong

As a soft core feature, Emmanuelle 2 stands out as one of the very best of it's kind. Artfully rendered, beautifully photographed love/sex scenes, that really pushed the limits on just how far a film could go. This is a sequel to one of the most successful erotic movies of all time. I can report, in all honesty that is is a rare instance where a sequel is better than the original. While the first "Emmanuelle", filmed by Just Jaeckin, is somehow dark, and murky, Emmanuelle 2 is bright, and filled with life, and with genuine eroticism. Obviously this feature had a much larger budget than it's predecessor, and it shows. The viewer was introduced to the infamous "Emmanuelle" character in 1974. She was a shy, quiet girl of 19, married to an older man, who had very different views of sex. In that film we witnessed the beginning of her sexual awakening. In this sequel we see Emmanuelle developed into an incredibly strong, liberated woman, who goes about her sexual conquests like a drunken sailor! Sylvia Kristel sets the screen on fire with her unique brand of sexuality, which i can't quite describe. The many erotic scenes feature the most sumptuously filmed situations imaginable, and always set in the most exotic of locales. And as explicit as it is, it never crosses the line between good taste and sleaze for a second. What constantly surprised me about Emmanuelle 2 is just how well made it is. Every second of it looks like a very polished, big budget film. It was not expected, because the first Emmanuelle simply did not possess this level of quality. Best of all, while Emmanuelle 1 seems horribly dated today, thanks mostly to the 1970's philosophizing of the Mario character, along with the tacky theme song, the second one has dated beautifully, thanks to the truly elegant and timeless fashion choices for Kristel and the rest of the cast, and also to the gorgeous soundtrack by celebrated composer Francis Lai. If you have an interest in erotic films, i recommend you hunt this one down. I have the DVD from the Netherlands, which I believe is the most uncut version available. I also recommend seeing the original first; it is not as good as this one, however it is still a very good, and important film, as that is the one that started it all. Plus it is nice to see a character of erotic films actually develop, and change throughout a series. I cannot however recommend most of the others in the series, (with the exception of the very rare "Yellow Emanuelle" and a couple Laura Gemser films) as they range from bad to ridiculous. This stuff is worlds better than much of the ugly, corporate crap that comes out of Hollywood these days.

This may be the best softcore erotic movie ever made, and its a shame that more people didn't see it in America when initially released in 1975 at the height of the Sexual Revolution, before AIDS came along and took all the fun out of swinging. One reason why the film wasn't so popular is that just a few years earlier, the first Emmannuelle film, based on a supposedly true book by Ammanuelle Arson, was released with much hoopla - and seen by many people, most of whom did not particularly like it, myself included. There was a glossy look but a nasty edge to it all - the sex seemed joyless, owing to the awful approach of Just Jaecken. So people stayed away from the sequel, which is all about the joy of sex! And is absolutely sweet and seductive, lush and lovely - everything that the first Emmanuelle movie was supposed to be but wasn't. If this had been released first, everyone would have been delighted. This remains the most perfect film by which you can revisit (on screen) the truly joyous feel of sexual liberation in the mid-seventies, though steer away from its predecessor. Best sequence: Kristel's lovemaking, in an Asian brothel, with Laura Gemser, shortly to start a series of her own as . . . Black Emmanuelle!