Der Nachtportier (1974)

Der Nachtportier: Directed by Liliana Cavani. With Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Philippe Leroy, Gabriele Ferzetti. A concentration camp survivor rekindles her sadomasochistic relationship with her lover, a former SS officer – now working as a night porter at a Vienna hotel – but his former Nazi associates begin stalking them.

“Itu0026#39;s easy to dismiss a film like this or Salo or In the Realm of the Senses as garbage. Itu0026#39;s too easy, in fact, and not very fair. These films are all very interesting, if you can take them. And, if you canu0026#39;t stand the heat, hey, stay out of the kitchen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAmong the ranks of what Iu0026#39;ll call the Artsploitation flick, The Night Porter is rather tame. There are only a couple of hardcore sex scenes, and there are really only two scenes with nudity.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat I like about this film is, first and foremost, the performance by Dirk Bogarde. The subtle guilt and shame he projects is simply amazing. He really builds a three dimensional character, and mostly without dialogue. Other performers are weaker. Charlotte Rampling, his captive, gives a very uneven performance. Sometimes it seems on the money, other times it seems forced, or blank. None of the others are really worth mentioning, except for that one actoru0026#39;s ballet dancing, which is quite remarkable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCavaniu0026#39;s direction is sensuous. I saw this film for the second time today,u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eand I had failed to notice before that it was directed by a woman. Unfortunately, that doesnu0026#39;t affect my reading of the film any, but it is interesting. This definitely seemed like a male project. Cavaniu0026#39;s direction has a certain grace, a certain elegance. The film contains several scenes that could be called masterpieces in the midst of a lesser work. My favorite in the entire film is the one where Lucia locks herself in the bathroom, breaks a bottle in front of the door, and then allows Max to run in after her. This scene is so marvelously directed, it would work particularly well when seen as a separate entity. The famous nude cabaret song, the one depicted on the Criterion cover, is also exquisite.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTechnically, it is perfect. The cinematography is beautiful, as Iu0026#39;ve mentioned. The musical score is also gorgeous. Itu0026#39;s possibly one of the greatest. The biggest failure of the film is definitely its script. The story is very difficult to follow. Itu0026#39;s never clear exactly what has happened since the war, and what these former Nazis are doing in Vienna. Itu0026#39;s also unclear what exactly the trials are that are always being brought up. And Iu0026#39;m not sure what they are afraid of, what they originally plan to do with Lucia, or anything like that. Or why they canu0026#39;t break into Maxu0026#39;s apartment again. A lot of this stuff seems silly. I would have also liked Luciau0026#39;s character better developed. We get the sense that she accepted Maxu0026#39;s advances so quickly so that she could get his protection, which she receives in that biblical dance scene. I want more yet. With Max so well developed, Lucia feels somewhat like an object for the plot.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI rate this a high 7/10.”