Verführung: Die grausame Frau
Wanda is both a mysterious dominatrix and a shrewd businesswoman. Her profession is cruelty—specialising in luring her lovers into the trap called seduction. In her gallery in Hamburg Harbour, Wanda stages sadomasochistic rituals as bizarre theatrical performances. In her private life, too, Wanda is a sovereign ruler.
Loosely based on motifs from Sacher-Masoch’s novel Venus in Furs, the film provoked far-reaching reactions: its BDSM scenes not only drew the ire of the then Federal Minister of the Interior and the Catholic film service. The film was also hotly debated in lesbian and feminist circles—some celebrated its subversive power, while others were disturbed by its radical display of sadomasochistic fantasies. Today, the work is regarded as an avant-garde surreal milestone and an expression of queer selfhood.
details
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Runtime
85 min -
Country
Germany -
Year of Presentation
1985 -
Year of Production
1985 -
Director
Elfi Mikesch, Monika Treut -
Cast
Udo Kier, Mechthild Großmann, Peter Weibel, Carola Regnier, Sheila McLaughlin -
Production Company
Hyena Films -
Berlinale Section
Forum -
Berlinale Category
Feature Film
pictures from the movie
Biography Elfi Mikesch
Born in Judenburg, Austria, in 1940, after training as a photographer she moved to Berlin in 1964. She works as a photographer, director of photography and director, and since 1976 has been making her own feature and documentary films. As director of photography she has worked with renowned directors such as Werner Schroeter, Rosa von Praunheim, Monika Treut and Harald Bergmann. She has been a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts in the film and media art section since 1991.
Filmography Elfi Mikesch
1978 Ich denke oft an Hawaii | 1980 Was soll’n wir denn machen ohne den Tod | 1982 Macumba | 1985 Verführung: Die grausame Frau | 1989 Marocain | 1997 Verrückt bleiben, verliebt bleiben | 2000 Die Markus Family | 2011 Mondo Lux – The world of images of Werner Schroeter | 2014 Fieber
Biography Monika Treut
Born in Mönchengladbach, Germany in 1954, she completed a PhD in literature at Marburg in 1984. She began working with video in 1976 and founded Hyena Films with Elfi Mikesch in 1984. Her feature and documentary films have shaped Queer Cinema for over 35 years. The love story Seduction: The Cruel Woman, the sex melodrama Virgin Machine and the comedy My Father is Coming were followed by a series of documentaries including the multi-award-winning trans-futuristic Gendernauts. Her films have featured at the Berlinale 13 times already; in 2017, she received the TEDDY AWARD for her lifetime achievement. She also teaches at universities in California and New York and, since 2018, has been Deputy Professor of Media at the University of Hildesheim.
Filmography Monika Treut
1985 Verführung: Die grausame Frau | 1991 My Father Is Coming | 1992 Dr. Paglia | 1998 Didn't Do It For Love | 2001 Kriegerin des Lichts | 2005 Den Tigerfrauen wachsen Flügel | 2009 Ghosted | 2012 Das Rohe und das Gekochte | 2014 Von Mädchen und Pferden | 2016 Zona Norte