Strange that the Italian chums in director Franco Minnelli's "Hard Trip to Berlin" ("L'Allievo") have to cross the border get a piece of ass. Go figure. Or it could simply be that no one does hardcore mansex quite like those nasty Germans, not even Italians. Diego Sierra drags his buddy Tony Rangel to Berlin and into the bowels of the city's notorious sex clubs for some European sex instruction, taking an unsuspecting Tony and the viewer along for the ride.
I have some buddies who are fond of stateside sex clubs, and the first thing they do upon arrival is grab their lube and hit the gloryholes. Not Leo Ciccone (no relation to Our Lady Madonna). He quickly dashes for the dungeon and straps himself in. If you look past the chains, the first segment of the film put me in mind of a bodybuilder competitively posing. Both of Leo's arms are bound tightly and he spends several minutes testing the strength of the metal against his own. Every muscle in his upper body jumps to attention. He's clever and finds a way to free himself, giving our bald and muscular Houdini enough freedom to head towards the sling. Leo's not waiting for a buddy to make him cum, however. He's suddenly relieves the pressure all by himself, pumping out his load onto his tan and rippled stomach.
The scene segues to another dark and dingy corner of the club where Antonio Silva sits in wait of fresh meat. While he waits, he gropes the front of his crotch, unlaces his work boots and settles in a bit, all in anticipation of a partner showing up. Antonio is a beauty -- burnished skin, humpy build, mohawk, and killer good looks. He passes the time by strutting around the room, snapping metal clamps and such, testing the sling with his hands to make sure it passes muster. Like Leo, he soon loses patience and slips his uncut dick from his stark white jockstrap. But before he gets carried away, he senses Tony Rangel's presence from another corner of the room.
How long has Tony been standing there? It's difficult to say, but it's been long enough for Tony to get himself worked into a lather. As Antonio gives his admirer the signal, Tony crosses the space, latches onto Antonio's nipple with his teeth and roughly manhandles Antonio's prick. Tony doesn't need much encouragement when it comes to deep-throating, skillfully bending at the waist and swallowing Antonio easily. But it's Antonio's hole he wants and so he brazenly steals a taste. Not one to be bested, Antonio quickly takes control and puts Tony in the sling. He's tender when he kisses Tony's chest, but brutal when he pounds his ass. Tony doesn't last very long, and their session ends with two puddles of cum on his stomach.
Having had his fill of touring the cold streets of Berlin, Diego too heads for the sex club, donning a hood and situating himself in the ever-popular leather sling. He's found a master who quickly binds his balls with rope. Then with the help of a menacing pulley, Diego's balls get exquisitely tortured. The camera pulls back to reveal that not one, but several men are in on the action, greedily groping between Diego's legs and hooking up metal tit-clamps. As they bind his ankles and pull his legs apart, his balls turn an interesting plum color. Seeing an opportunity, someone inserts a finger or two into his hole, followed by a beaded dildo and a few well-placed smacks.
His balls are then released, but the dildo stays put while he's paddled. Not quite off the hook, the underside of Diego's prick is studded with clothespins and the poor chap's balls are bound once more. Somewhere between the clothespins and the hot wax is some aggressive urethra torture with a stubby metal instrument. Sensing that Diego is still eager for more, they hook him up and shock his crotch, flip him over and re-bind his nuts along the underside of the table. Finally, as sort of a Submissive's Greatest Hits, Diego gets quick tastes of clothespins, wax and spanking before his masters let him have an orgasm.
For sheer entertainment value, it's hard to follow Diego's dog-and-pony show. But right on its heels comes a session that has a decidedly tender feel, beginning with two clothed men enjoying some deep kissing as they rock back and forth in the empty sling. Compared to everyone we've seen so far, these guys are refreshingly innocent. And as the layers of clothing get peeled away, it's clear that they're Italian twinks, their legs and bellies covered with just a light mat of dark hair. One guy treats the other to a long and drawn out exploratory blowjob. His attentiveness is rewarded by a fuck in the sling, peppered by kisses from his eager buddy. The fucking is good, but what makes this bottom blow is sucking on his buddy's cock again.
Finally, two more slender Italians explore each other within the confines of the German sex club. One of them is Diego, though it's hard to tell which without the hood and accoutrements. The most provocative thing that happens here is a light bare bottom spanking, the top pulling apart his submissive's asscheeks to show the camera the fuzzy center. He's not quite satisfied until that ass is bright cherry red. He encourages the submissive to model his fiery ass for all the horny viewers at home, rewarding him finally with a tight-fisted handjob.
Oddly enough, "Hard Trip to Berlin" is really a film about Italian men on holiday. The film has considerable peaks and valleys, and would benefit greatly a change in venue scene to scene. But there's sling-sex a-plenty to be had here if you're willing to dig out your passport to get it.
DVD features: Chapters; galleries; extensive trailer reel; and no regional coding (playable worldwide).
A DVD Review by Rick Forrent