Joe Dallesandro in Flesh

'A man desperate for money and no income, turns prostitute and interplays with a variety of clients and hustlers.'

Flesh (1968)is the first film in the Paul Morrissey Trilogy produced by artist and director Andy Warhol. The other two films in the trilogy were Trash and Heat. Warhol and Morrissey conceived Flesh while Warhol was convalescing following an attempt on his life by author Valerie Solanas who accused Warhol of trying to steal her work.

In addition to rooting 'Joe's' story in family, Morrissey and Warhol also chose to use the image of 'Joe' as a father heavily in the film's promotion.  Although it is Joe's wife who pushes him out to make some cash, you can sense after the scene with his daughter, his role of father, and sense of family is his core motivation.

I especially love how Morrissey chose to film and direct Joe's nude scenes in the film.  They are slow, sometimes improvisational, and incredibly natural.  Morrissey gives us great views of all of Joe, and it's at times incredibly erotic.  As hot as Joe and his body are, they don't seem to be the main focus. Instead, it's both the the situations, and Joe's response to them, and his interactions with his scene partners which elevate the level of erotica.

I have read that the scene below actually features Joe with his real life son Michael, who would have been almost one at the time of filming.  Although I read that on the 'Flesh' Wikipedia page, I found it difficult to verify with additional sources.

It was interesting to me to see Joe go from the role of husband and father to the role of hustler, being 'directed' by the artist. (Maurice Braddell)  It is an fascinating role reversal seeing a father, who would have been the head of the family, especially in the sixties and seventies, transitioning to the more submissive role as a hustler.