Directed by Joseph W. Sarno: Inga (1968)

Inga (Jag - en oskuld), Joe Sarno's first film shot in Sweden, is not only one of the directors most popular films but also one of his finest. Released in 1968 to both shocked and receptive filmgoers, Inga remains one of the definitive Joe Sarno productions. Shot in beautiful and crisp Black and White by Bruce G. Sparks and starring the absolutely unforgettable Marie Liljedahl, seen here as the title character in her first starring role, Inga is a breathtaking production that is as poetic as it is erotic and as haunting as it is sensual.
Sarno was already a veteran behind the camera when he headed to Europe in 1967 to shoot what would become the first in quite a few films he made in Sweden, and he immediately took advantage of the more relaxed censorship laws in place for Inga, although viewed by today's standards it is fairly mild stuff. While time might have taken away some of its shock factor, Inga still resonates far deeper than most films dealing with sexual awakening could ever hope to. It's a lovely production highlighted by Sarno's gentle direction and Liljedahl's stunning performance that manages to be both incredibly naive and completely aware. The rest of the cast is just as good, with special note going to Monica Strömmerstedt as Inga's aunt Greta.
Sarno's probing character study is available in a rather splendid special edition from Retro-Seduction cinema and it features two versions of the film, as well as several terrific extras like an audio commentary, outtakes and an audio interview with Liljedahl. While not Sarno's greatest work, it is an ideal entryway into his canon and it remains one of the sixties defining films.

Directed by Joseph W. Sarno: The Indelicate Balance (1969)

A once lost and nearly completely unknown film that set on the shelf for over thirty years, The Indelicate Balance is one of the more striking and surprising works in the film canon of Joe Sarno. A family drama much closer in spirit to Ingmar Bergman than any of the other so-called sexploitation filmmakers that Sarno is often grouped with, The Indelicate Balance will probably come as a bit of shock to film fans who only think of Sarno as a director of low-budget skin-flicks.
Shot in Sweden in 1968 in just under three weeks with a cast of mostly inexperienced, but extremely talented, actors The Indelicate Balance is an unrelenting look at a once close family being ripped apart lies, deception and incest. An intense and humorless work propelled by Sarno's wonderfully realized script that teeters between striking realism and heavy melodrama, The Indelicate Balance is one of Sarno's hardest films to shake even though it remains one of his least known.
According to Michael J. Bowen's excellent DVD liner notes, that graced The Indelicate Balance for its release as a bonus on Retro Seductions excellent The Seduction of Inga disc, the film never had a theatrical release and only one print of it exists. What a strange and sad fate for such an unnerving and accomplished work. The Indelicate Balance is now hard to track down as that Seduction of Inga DVD was a numbered limited edition and it has been out of print for a few years. Used copies can be found but the price tag can be hefty. Hopefully Retro Seduction will see fit to re-release The Indelicate Balance again in the future for more Sarno fans to discover.