Ha-Gan (1977)

Heaven is so vast that its bounty cannot be kept from the eyes of us on earth, if we will only open our hearts and dare to see the divine as it walks among us. That’s the message of The Garden (1977). Also known as Ha-Gan, Victor Nord’s Israeli drama shows an old man (Shaike Ophir) cultivating a bit of paradise via his lush garden that grows in the shadow of a city’s encroaching sprawl. But into this peaceful oasis, where nature thrives in the absence of predators and strife, a reminder of the surrounding carnal brutality is thrust. Within the old man’s sanctified walls, a young American tourist (Melanie Griffith) enters disoriented, physically traumatized, and fully naked after enduring a bestial assault. Is her arrival a sign of his dementia or a certain spirituality that lets him view a battered survivor as an angel sent from on high? Certainly, the bare bod on a youthful Ms. Griffith is a sight to behold, if only on screen. Indeed, the then-emerging ingénue has the presence to make Mr. Skin’s trousers tighten from afar. Through the poetry of motion, we witness pure perfection as the guileless blonde dances naked through the forest. In other words, the woodsy scene will give you a woody! Actually, so will the entire movie since it showcases Mel’s bare breasts, bush and bum. Thanks to its artsy cinematography and symbolic story, the film counters the worst side of humanity with the best of what God giveth: one Melanie Griffith!