Despite the fact that seventies Swedish sex siren Christina Lindberg has amassed a remarkably strong cult following over the last few years, very few of her films have been released on DVD in North America. Synapse was good enough to give us two versions of Thriller and Ms. Lindberg pops up briefly in EI’s release of Swedish Wildcats and in the Panik House release of Sex & Fury, but aside from that, it’s slim pickings. Thankfully, Impulse Pictures have rescued one of Lindberg’s early starring roles from obscurity and given the film its first official home video release in North America, completely with English subtitles. Unfortunately, the film isn’t the best her filmography has to offer. 

Lindberg plays the titular Anita, a randy young thing with a taste for carnal encounters or at least, casual sex. She sleeps her way from man to man, never really satisfied, until she meets up with Erik, a student at the nearby university. Erik (Stellan Skarsgard) is studying psychology and he figures that Anita just might be a full blown nymphomaniac. Good Samaritan that he is, he takes it upon himself to cure her of her disorder and restore to her a normal libido to take the place of the ravenous one she currently abides by. 

The story tries to come off as somewhat serious but there are too many contradictions in the film’s execution for that to work. If Anita’s behavior is the fault of her supposed disease or condition or whatever, would she really behave as wantonly as she does in the film and show as little remorse? Probably not, she’d like have a hard time dealing with things and feel some guilt or some shame about it. But that doesn’t make for good exploitation… thankfully featuring her prominently and quite naked does, which is where the strengths of the film lie. Serious intent or not, the film fetishisizes her a fair bit and it doesn’t do a half bad job of it either. 

The story meanders, it doesn’t really have much to say, to be blunt, it’s poorly written but like many European sexploitation movies of the era, it’s very well shot and always fun to look at. Lindberg does the cute/sexy thing way too well for her own good, and it makes an otherwise very average film at least watchable. Don’t go into this one expecting a masterpiece, just accept it for what is it – Christina Lindberg without a lot of clothes – and enjoy it on that level. God knows that for many of us, that’s enough.