The Night Porter (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

The Night Porter is a fascinating look into a sadomasachistic sexual relationship complicated by the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. It takes place in Vienna, Austria after the war is over. Starring Dirk Bogarde & Charlotte Rampling in the leads with numerous well done supporting roles led by Gabrielle Ferzetti as the leader of a group of former Nazi's that are in hiding & have a unique view on how they must deal with the (unjustified) guilt that haunts them.Bogarde plays the night porter at a prestigious Hotel in Vienna. He is surprised one night when a famous conductor appears to lead the Vienna orchestra with his wife, played by Rampling. This woman is none other than his "little girl", the young woman he saved the life of while producing photographic records for the Nazi's during his duties in the camp. What else he did to & with her is the disturbing part of the show. Just as in La Caduta Degli Dei (The Damned) it is shown in detail with nudity & aberrant behavior being on screen many times. If this kind of show offends you then avoid it at all costs.The relationship between these two is renewed by this chance encounter & so many questions as to why someone would submit to this thing that is between them are displayed in action during the film but left for the viewer to determine motivations themselves. An interesting study of aberrant human behavior that doesn't even stray into fantasy really, though many might find that difficult to believe.I myself wonder what this woman's life would have been as an adult if there had been no camp experience for her. It's certain that her camp experiences molded some of her choices & yet would any of her choices been the same despite it? Would she have been a submissive whether she had been sent to the camp or not? It's certain she would not have had a relationship with the night porter had she not gone to the camp. Just like most of us, they respond to being in a life they aren't happy with by going in another direction, in this case they go backwards.This is a movie about people under extreme stress & clear motive isn't always obtainable for the viewer. There are the camp photographer's choices to consider too. Why would this chance sighting change him from a man in hiding to what he becomes afterwards? The group of ex-Nazis is well constructed as are the obvious collaborators. Little is shown of normal society & I feel that was a good choice here. There is plenty to consider about the motivations of the people we do meet, not to mention the continuing fear of what was & for some still is the Nazi machine.I doubt this was an easy movie to act in for anyone & the obvious driving force of the Nazi experience is present throughout. People that believe that Marlene Dietrich was a good sensual dancer may change their mind after seeing the dance scene in this one. It is certainly less restrained being, as it is, set in a concentration camp. I always see this one together with La Caduta Degli Dei (The Damned) which is a good view into the world of Nazi Germany just prior to the war, while The Night Porter is a glimpse into the possible aberrations after the war.

I have recently discovered Dirk Bogarde, and I find him endlessly intriguing. He was such a unique actor. So far, my favorite movie of his is Visconti's Death in Venice, but this comes in close second place. Roger Ebert hated this movie, but I don't think he quite understood it either. The Criterion release is particularly enlightening because it has 2 brief interviews with the director, Liliana Cavani, and includes a documentary on women in the Italian Resistance during WWII. Not that the movie is about the Resistance, but it does reveal the kind of thing in Liliana Cavani's mind in creating The Night Porter.It isn't a pleasant movie, and it can be hard to take at times; nonetheless, I'm convinced this is a work of cinematic art and an important film. My interests, I should add, likely predispose me to the film. The history of cinema holds great attraction for me, and I'm interested in all aspects of WWII, including its long-term effects on people who lived through it. I am also interested in the history of women filmmakers, and Cavani is certainly a woman of deep thought and serious intention. I don't know what I would think of this movie had it been made by a man. Then again, a man's version of this story's subject matter would, I think, be quite different, and I would probably take issue with it.I am very glad I own The Night Porter. If you are a fan of Dirk Bogarde and/or Charlotte Rampling, especially, you might want to try a watch. Again, this is the Criterion release I'm reviewing, and the blu-ray.

Jeffrey Leach has written an extraordinarily insightful review of "The Night Porter," and I just want to add a few lines, as otherwise I'd just be repeating him. I recommend that anyone trying to understand this film read his review for help with the extremely difficult territory it explores.For those who find the film to be exploitive or perverse (in an unrealistic way), please remember that we now know, as a result of so much information gathered regarding the sexuality of children who were abused during their formative years, that if a girl, young and inexperienced as Rampling's Lucia was when she was in the concentration camp, finds the right combination of emotional tenderness (as in Max's kissing of her wounded arm) and sexual stimulation/initiation, these experiences become so deeply imprinted as to be easily re-awakened in adulthood. After the intensity of such experiences, "normal" sexuality can seem dead and flat, not at all a match for the earlier times of dis-inhibtion. While this may be difficult and even offensive for those who have no similar touchstone of experience, psychologically it is accurate--frighteningly so--and "The Night Porter" shows us just how far it can go. When Lucia puts on the little girl's dress she's purchased, the image is jarring but sums up the truth of her stunted psychological and sexual development. We end up wondering whether she ever had a passionate moment with her oh-so-normal husband. With the experiences of the camp having been the most intense and indelible of her life, how could she not seek to re-create them? And how could Max, who despite his sadistic acts seems to have genuinely fallen in love with "his little girl," not fall backwards himself into the time when they were locked together in the deepest relationship of all--two people may never be closer than victim and torturer, completely dependent upon one another for the only human contact either has. Hence we see the Stockholm Syndrome constantly repeated, abused girls become abused women, etc. As Lucia says to a former Nazi doctor who comes to Max's apt. to check on the situation, "There is no cure." Whether one agrees or not, whether it is true for everyone or not, it is accepted as true by these two, and all their actions spring from this perception.Liliana Cavani's precise and compassionate direction gives her characters the safety they needed (Rampling is astoundingly courageous in her no-holds-barred performance--most actresses would have run screaming from this role), and Bogarde is memorable as this strange combination of father/lover. Together the three create this dark and disturbing but deeply human story of damaged people who somehow find a way to live fully for a brief time before their end.One last note: I agree with Mr. Leach that Criterion can be too expensive, but at least they give us what no one else will touch.

This is just one of those movies that stays with you. It is really different and thought provoking. I'm not a critic and don't know the right words but I will watch it again due to the fine acting and subject matter.