Two Minutes of Perfectly Crafted Sexual Passion

Before getting into the details of why I think this is one of the hottest kissing scenes ever made, I'll give you a very brief contextual recap. For those of you who haven't already seen "The Illusionist" (I highly recommend it), the characters in this scene were childhood sweethearts who were forced to separate. They accidentally find each other many years later. At this point she is engaged to be married to a prince (I think) and he is a highly respected touring magician. The sexual tension between them builds during brief, secretive meetings...until neither of them can hide their passion for the other. She goes to his house in the middle of the night to finally be honest, and to find out exactly where they stand...Now watch the clip (feel free to stop it after the sex is over!)

So, let's go play-by-play through these absolutely delicious couple of minutes. First, they are angry and frustrated with each other. Always a good start for passionate sex. As she begins her tirade, he pauses, waits...then at just the right moment, without one answering word, he walks up to her and kisses her...But it's the way he walks...so determined, so intent. His hand comes up to hold her neck, his thumb brushes her cheek tenderly, calming her...

To all men reading this, if you ever want to shut a woman up during a *stupid* fight, this is the most constructive way to do it. (This will only work during inconsequential "she's PMSing" kind of fights, not the real "you cheated on me, you Bastard" kind of fights!) That's my professional advice. Ha.

Moving right along. He leads her inside his house, all the while watching her, turning her around to place her just where he wants her. She tries to regain some measure of control, tries to initiate a kiss...but he stops her! Again he takes her face in his hand, but not tenderly this time. Now that she's agreed to enter his house, his territory, she'll play by his rules. His hold is somewhat threatening as he uses controlled force to push her against the wall. The tension in his body, the hunger in his eyes, his every movement reinforces his desire for her. It's obvious he's waited too long for this, imagined it, dreamed about it...and now that it's here he's not about to let her ruin his hard-earned conquest.

But instead of fully attacking...he lingers, draws out and savors the moment. There's a big difference between lingering and hesitating. He's not hesitant. He's not trying to decide if he should or shouldn't. That decision has long passed. Instead he wants to revel in every single second of her surrender...And still he refuses to give her the satisfaction of a kiss.

He begins to undress her, and she takes his lead. When he opens her shirt, he finds she's wearing the necklace he made for her when they were young. It's a confirmation of his ownership. After all this time, even while engaged to another man, she still displays her secret symbolic loyalty to him. Like a traditional wedding ring, or a non-traditional collar, the necklace speaks to him of her devotion...As she realizes what's briefly caught his attention...As they simultaneously understand that what's between them is real, lasting through time, stronger than separation...the intensity rises to a new level...

Finally he loses his own carefully constructed composure. Even in his most fulfilling fantasy, she was never wearing the necklace...its meaning, its surprise...it overwhelms them both, and he no longer has the will to prolong the moment...He has to kiss her, he needs to kiss her, and so he does..fully and greedily.

In a way, her complete fidelity to him causes his emotional surrender to her...And for the rest of the scene they make love as perfectly matched equals...without secrets, without fear, and with utter abandon.

Add to all this the sweeping score by Philip Glass and the beautiful cinematography, and what you get is a two minute example of perfectly crafted sexual passion. I thoroughly enjoyed it...