In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.
Identity and performance, resistance and submission, and monotony and quiet rage crash into one another in this clear-eyed vision of a lesbian working as a professional dominatrix with a police officer as a regular client.
A group of Los Angeles cops decide to take off some of the pressures of their jobs by engaging in various forms of after-hours debauchery.
Dom is the story of Jade, a young woman torn between her search for spirituality and her dark life as a dominatrix. Her powerful spoken word poetry ignites the interest of a young rockstar and when her world is shattered by death and violence, Jade must choose between control and giving herself up to love.
Maria, an unfortunate young woman, kills her rapist father in self-defense, and is later tried, sentenced, and shipped off to a woman's penitentiary where she and her fellow inmates are subjected to psychological and sexual abuse at the hands of a psychotic lesbian warden.
After breaking into a house he believes is empty, thief Olivier is caught by the owner, Ariane, who turns out to be a dominatrix. Improbably falling for her, Olivier returns periodically, and an impulsive romance blossoms despite Ariane's profession. Soon Olivier becomes more familiar with her work, even joining in on occasion. However, when he discovers that Ariane has a son, he attempts to "fix" her, hoping to give her a better life.
After the death of his father, a 16-year-old boy struggles with anger and instability, distancing himself from his mother. His search for escape leads him to a lonely dominatrix living nearby, a woman accustomed to giving and controlling pain. Drawn to her world, he seeks both solace and love, while she finds herself pulled into a bond that neither expected but both need.
Eva, an upper-class housewife, frustratedly leaves her arrogant husband and decides to enter the call girl business. She lets Yvonne, a prostitute, teach her the basics and both set out for prey together, until Eva starts an affair with Chris, who turns out to be a call boy, as well. Consequently, she moves into his penthouse, large enough for both to offer their services separately.
Single mother Diana struggles to provide for her child and pay for her college education. When she meets two dancers from a nearby gentlemen's club, Diana's convinced there's fast money to be made stripping.
Alberta, a mousy young woman with the survival skills of a snail, loses cash that isn't hers, so she runs from her small town to Seattle where her old babysitter, Celene, lives - a dominatrix with a classy apartment and a life plan. She lets Alberta stay. Alberta gets a job as a checker at a supermarket and becomes fascinated with Celene's work.
Marie, a teenage vagabond whose lust for life will eventually lead her to the bed of the mysterious Sandra. What begins as a blissful relationship soon takes a violent turn however, as Sandra tries to take full control over the innocent girl's life.
A psychiatrist encourages his female patients to tell him their sexual problems, each as each relates her particular case, we see it in flashback.
Gudrun has modeled her amateur German terrorist group after the 1970s Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof Gang). She attempts to imitate her heroes by kidnapping the son of a wealthy industrialist and hopes to negotiate leftist demands from the father. When Gudrun’s not spouting leftist verses (including during a hilariously brilliant fuck session), she’s trying to convince her all-male gang to abandon their heterosexuality, which she believes is the result of mass delusion.
Ben works in a morgue. Ben's wife left him and he is into various kinds of alternative sexuality. Teresa dies of an ecstasy overdose on the dance floor. When she is brought to the morgue, she is resurrected -how shall I say?- in Ben's arms (that part based on a true story). From this starting point, the film revolves around the interactions between them and Boris (orgy fan), Abdel (no sentimental life), Ducon (wants to kill himself), Nico (dying of AIDS), etc... A social study of the 90s with heavy references to sex and deat
"My Normal" is the story of Natalie, a young lesbian from the Lower East Side, who's struggling to find a balance between her dreams of becoming a film maker and her lifestyle as a dominatrix. Her exotic looks and unconventional techniques make her one of the most desirable mistresses in the NYC underground. After befriending her weed dealer and igniting a steamy love affair with her new girl, Natalie gets an internship on a real movie set. But if everything she ever wanted is becoming a reality, why is her life falling apart? When it seems that all is lost, Natalie realizes that the only way to turn her dreams into reality is to use her unique talents as a dominatrix to get exactly what she wants.
By all outwardly appearances, Joe Goodman is a successful man: a lovely wife, a beautiful daughter, a successful gallery. But inside Joe lurks a void filled only through love affair with Wendy, a seductive dominatrix.
A New York housewife flees America and her husband of 30 years to reinvent herself in Paris as Fleur, an upscale escort and dominatrix carving out her own power and identity. But as her past collides with her new life, the question isn’t just whether she’ll return… but whether she can.
When a Russian doctor (Patrizia Gori) falls foul of the Nazis, she finds herself imprisoned at Fort Stilberg, a luxury brothel for German top brass where the women are overseen by sadistic SS officer Helga Hortz (Jacqueline Laurent). The doctor's medical skills bring her to the attention of Nazi Lieutenant Erik Mueller (Jack Taylor), who saves the lovely lady from becoming one of the establishment's 'hostesses' by assigning her to the infirmary.
A look at the lives of two prostitutes in Tokyo: Rei, who works as an S&M dominatrix, and Ayumi, in the more straightforward profession of call girl. In addition to their working life, the film also looks at their private lives. Rei is acting in an amateur theatre company along with the receptionist from Ayumi's escort service, while Ayumi is living with her student-boyfriend as he struggles to finally get accepted to college.
A grieving heart surgeon struggling with the loss of his wife drifts through an emotionally detached life while raising his teenage daughter. His chance encounter with a dominatrix awakens feelings he thought were gone, drawing him into a dark and unconventional world where pain and desire intertwine.