Seduction: The Cruel Woman
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: D
Monika Treut apparently has had enough credibility to make
films on the S&M scene and lesbianism to have her films considered more
artistic than a documentary or hardcore film on either subject. The drama Seduction: The Cruel Woman
(1985) wants to be a realistic, open portrayal of both, and though it is more
naturalistic than an exploitation film, it fails miserably at being more than a
mere representation of what it is about.
Wanda (Mechthild Grossman) runs an S&M business that
is pretty well rounded, with the help of Gregor (Udo Kier from Blade
among other places). There are plenty
of women and men involved in games and situations where the master/slave thing
happens. Much of this is gross, other
things not necessarily believable, and the rest tragically pathetic. Like prostitutes and their pimps, how much
of this has to really do with “free will”?
Well, Treut and co-director/cinematographer Elfi Mikesch
think it is only sufficient to show the world, without explaining it. This is far from self-explanatory filmmaking
or subject matter and as compared to the likes of an Eyes Wide Shut (the
1999 Stanley Kubrick film that makes more and more sense lately), the sexuality
shown seems limited, especially as compared to other films that simply dealt
with lesbianism.
Sure, this is not the thought-police lesbianism of XXX
films for men, but it does not seem to be totally invested in the subject. This is a drama, and the screenplay by
producer/directors Mikesch and Treut has many narrative problems. As for the S&M thing, it felt less
realistic than a few Nine Inch Nails music videos that seem to offer more about
what that is all about.
The full screen, color picture is not as clear as it
should be, being from an old analog transfer, while the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
sounds its newer age. It is German and
clear enough, but nothing remarkable.
The extras include a trailer for this and like films, a photo gallery,
and a brief clip of Treut discussing how she knew nothing about film when she
started. I believe her.
Part of the problem is that the subject of this world is
about a world so self-contained, it does not want explained, but it is part of
some multi-billion dollar business. The
question is, how much of that is induced by opportunists? It is going to take much more than this
film, or a bolder, smarter thriller than Joel Schumacher’s 8mm (1999) to
really get to the heart of such material.
When you take away the world of S&M and the lesbianism, you can
really see how bad this film is.
Intellectuals can rave about representation all they want, but it is
meaningless in a film that is overrated to begin with and dates quickly.
- Nicholas Sheffo
