We review the 1974 film, The Night Porter.
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While love is usually portrayed as a wonderful and beautiful
thing, there can be a dark side—few films have really explored this aspect. Italian
director Liliana Cavani’s The Night
Porter not only broaches this subject, it indulges some of our deepest
fantasies and desires. It’s a film about two lovers who become so obsessed with
their passion for each other that it decimates every single aspect of their
respective lives. In a way, it can be considered the European equivalent to the
Japanese film In the Realm of the Senses but
filmed in a more art-house manner.
Maximilian Theo Aldorfer (Dirk Bogarde) is a former Nazi SS
member living in post WWII Germany who happens to encounter Lucia Atherton (Charlotte
Rampling) a former prisoner of the concentration camp he oversaw. Thus begins
an intriguing relationship that blurs the line between passion and complete
insanity. The subject matter of the film was (and still is) a taboo subject. There
is a genre of films called “Nazisploitation”, most famously represented by Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, which uses
Nazi imagery in combination with sexual content to titillate viewers. The Night Porter has higher aspirations
than that, though it has been unfairly lumped into the same category as other,
sleazier films.
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Both Bogarde and Rampling put in outstanding performances,
and play both characters with deft handling of motivations and actions. They
are fanatical and crazed but it never becomes campy or cheesy. The film delves
deep into the concept of sadomasochism and even Stockholm Syndrome. It’s never
completely clear if either participant in the tryst is in their right mind. One
can’t help but sympathize with them though--everyone has been driven mad by
love at least once in their life. Because the holocaust is such a sensitive
subject, it is hard for people not to view any film about its horror as
anything but exploitative. Especially one such as this one, which examines a
relationship between a Nazi officer and a camp survivor. There is a lot of
emotional baggage to unpack, as it were.
The Night Porter
is elegantly filmed, and has an interesting backdrop due to it being a period piece.
There is one particular scene that is absolutely transfixing in its composition
as it also presented in a surreal manner. The artsy production value does
soften the impact somewhat, and gives it a classier atmosphere. Daniele Paris’ musical score is also
wonderful, with a plaintive solo clarinet imparting much of the somber mood. All of these things combine to make an
interesting film about a country coming to terms with the end of a grisly war,
obsession, and perhaps in the end, real love.
-Michelle Kisner