The film revolves around a woman named Christina, portrayed by actress Marie-France Pisier, who finds herself in a tumultuous relationship with her husband. Seeking excitement and possibly revenge, Christina engages in a series of sexual encounters. The plot navigates through her journey of self-discovery and the complexities of her relationships.
The reception of "Games for a Unfaithful Wife" would have been influenced by the social and cultural context of its release in 1976. The 1970s were a time of changing attitudes towards sex, marriage, and women's roles in society. A film like this, which openly discusses and depicts themes of infidelity, sexuality, and personal freedom, would likely have sparked a range of reactions from audiences and critics. Games.for.an.Unfaithful.Wife.1976
Upon its release, Games for an Unfaithful Wife sparked a considerable amount of debate. It was praised for its bold attempt to discuss female sexual liberation and criticized for its explicit scenes. The film's reception varied significantly across different countries due to censorship laws and societal norms at the time. The film revolves around a woman named Christina,
Due to the film’s obscurity—no major studio restoration exists, and many prints have disintegrated—plot details are cobbled together from vintage film program notes, contemporary reviews from adult film magazines like Screw or The Rialto Report, and anecdotal memories of projectionists. If the surviving reviews are accurate, the film
The narrative reportedly follows Claire, a bored, upper-middle-class housewife living in a sterile California suburb. Her husband, Richard, a workaholic real estate developer, is more interested in his golf handicap than his marriage. Feeling invisible, Claire begins a clandestine affair with Julian, a mysterious European photographer who introduces her to “psychological parlor games.”
These are the titular games:
If the surviving reviews are accurate, the film oscillates between genuine psychological tension (in the vein of Fatal Attraction, which would arrive a decade later) and static, mechanical soft-core scenes that were mandated by the film’s low-budget distributor.
