Eva goes to see Yvonne about becoming a prostitute.
Yvonne asks her if she needs money, and has a nice speech about that, but
what’s interesting is that Eva never answers her, and you get the sense it’s
something other than money that’s leading her into this life. Yvonne goes
through what each activity costs, and the camera pushes in on Eva while she
lists off various rules and prices. Because the camera pushes past Yvonne as
she speaks, a slight parallel is drawn to Eva’s husband, perhaps giving you the
thought that Eva might be heading into a situation where she will be controlled
again.
But Eva asserts her independence early on, when she walks
out on a man who exhibits a superior attitude toward her (perhaps reminding her
of her husband). Afterwards, another prostitute tells her: “At first
everybody’s choosy. Then you take them all. I only turn down the ones that
don’t bathe.”
Outside of work, Eva meets a man named Chris, who seems
interested in her. She goes to him and becomes intimate with him, but only the
next morning, for that night he is unable to get aroused. And then
interestingly we see another woman go to him, and he says the same things to
her that he said to Eva when she first arrived. And that’s how we learn that
Chris too is a prostitute.
There’s a really good scene where Eva’s husband confronts
her on the street. She tells him, “I’ll be the best paid whore around
because I offer the least.” I also love the scene where a married client
dresses her in an apron and has her do his dishes. And the scene where Eva
learns that Chris is also a whore is excellent and surprising. The way they
both handle themselves in that scene is surprising in that revealing moment,
and that leads to a greater and more unusual intimacy. This is a truly erotic
film with some excellent performances. It’s a film that is able to do so much
with silence, with looks between characters. And it has one of the best
montages I’ve seen in any film.
I really loved this entire film, except for the ending,
which is the only element that doesn’t feel believable or true. The film was
laying the groundwork for a different sort of ending, and then suddenly ditches
all it had carefully set up to go for a big dramatic moment. Only, the moment is
absurd and false rather than shocking or moving. Still, this is a film that is
worth watching and worth owning, especially for Gudrun Landgrebe’s performance
as Eva. By the way, she is stunningly beautiful and sexy.
The film is presented in the full-screen aspect ratio,
which is a shame. According to IMDB, the original aspect ratio is 1:66, so
we’re not missing all that much. As I was watching the film, there was only one
scene that stood out as losing something due to being cropped. There should
have been three people in the frame, and it could only really get two in at any
given moment. Aside from that one shot, I wasn’t aware of missing all that
much. As for the transfer, it’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. It’s
presented in its original German, with English subtitles.
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