The current consensus among porn fanciers is that only "hot sex" counts, but I would offer this mainly forgotten video feature as proof positive that traditional Adult Cinema is alive and well, if only in the archives.
Not part of the Golden Age (up through about 1983) of theatrical Adult filmmaking, this shot-on-video VHS release is made with heart, intelligence and a romantic flair no longer in favor, but durable (it exists in a Caballero DVD form for all to see).
Eric Edwards, an all-time great Adult Cinema actor not known for his directorial efforts, helmed from his own screenplay penned with Renee Summers -neither of them appear on screen this time. Instead the ethereal Tracey Adams takes the lead role(s), mainly as a fantasy figure Kayree, the Earth Mother to a lost Indian tribe.
Story is familar from myriad horror films, but used as a romantic fantasy rather than horror trope. It is told by an old geezer of a gold prospector, well-played by Randy West in a departure from his usual matinee idol screen persona. Back in 1938 he was dying in the desert and saved by Kayree.
I won't spoil the tall tale he spins, but in short she brings him to an idyllic setting resembling a hippie commune, with beauties like Keisha and Siobhan Hunter dressed in white togas. It seems this is the site of an ancient Indian burial ground, and the tribe's spirits live on in these non-Indian people, who worship Kayree as their Rain Goddess. West's character also takes on a god-like stance for them, as he replenishes the fountain they drink from, and an aphrodisiac effect (this is porn after all) is included in the deal.
Director Edwards even has sex scenes that omit the usually obligatory "money shot" climax, in creating a feature that is as far removed from the usual commercial concerns of porn as possible, while resisting the terrible pretentiousness that infects most "art" porn (see Michael Ninn, Michael Zen, Michael Raven and many others not named Michael for examples of the latter transgressors).
A timeless quality, leading right through to the excellent surprise ending, makes "Soft Warm Rain" a classic, ripe for rediscovery.
