The Night Porter [1973] [DVD]

A controversial Italian-made erotic drama from the 70s that has a certain cult status; it has an art-house feel and Italian director Liliana Cavani has the more subtle European sensibilities in the handling of it's very adult themes – much of the heavy criticism the movie encountered was from American critics who – in my opinion - generally lack the understanding to interpret movies not produced in their own country.This is a fairly uncomfortable film due to the storyline, but it`s rather haunting and provocative – which is why I have the film in my collection.I have the Anchor Bay DVD edition; the picture quality is a bit soft, but I remember it as being like that when I first saw it; it`s partially dubbed to accommodate some of the European actors (standard for Italian movie making of English language films) and there are no subtitles for the movie; extras are 3 interviews totalling around 39-minutes with the director, writer and Charlotte Rampling – these have on-screen subtitles.

This dark compelling film draws one into the action,unpleasant as some of it is, concerning an ultimately doomed love affair which began in a concentration camp between Max, an SS officer and Lucia, a prisoner. There was, in spite of the circumstances, a love-spark between them.She was able to survive in the camp giving herself to him.In 1957, Max is working as a night porter at a hotel. He does his job efficiently but without much in the way of commitment except for providing the Countess with a gigolo although the latter hates his job. He has learnt to be self-effacing and low profile. He is involved with a group of ex-SS officers, like a type of Odessa movement, who are dedicated to preserving themselves from the war crimes tribunals they should be facing. They have intelligence as to the availability of witnesses whom they are prepared to eliminate to preserve their identities. Hans and Klaus seem to be the leaders of this movement and, occasionally, they perform mock trials to see if they could survive interrogation in a war crimes court. Max really did not care as he just wanted some peace.However,this desire for peace is shattered when Lucia, now the wife of a famous conductor, comes to the hotel. She is smart,attractive and does not seem to be too deeply committed to her husband. After all the time that has elapsed since her concentration camp days, Lucia recognises Max and the feeling is mutual although he knows she is a potential witness. When they meet in her room, he said 'Why did you come here?' and, very quickly, their affair re-kindles and the spark is re-ignited. From there on, their fate is sealed. Max's 'friends' reckon she should be 'filed away' as they put it although Max knew that she would never testify in any trial because she loved him and so the war of attrition began.Eventually, Max's friends are able to cut his access to the outside world as they hole up in his room - electricity is cut, all his previous relationships are compromised including that with the Countess and his neighbour refuses to buy food for him. They grow weaker as they are starved into submission. These scenes are very harrowing to watch. It is rather like Everyman; the only thing to accompany Max on his journey to some sort of heaven are his Good Deeds. His now-enemies are ruthless and unremitting in their terrorism. They believe still in their commitment to the Third Reich,probably fervently believing in their ultimate right to feel no guilt and they do not allow for any opposition.The film is about the endurance of true love which stayed solid in spite of the waves of sheer spite and fear which fell upon it. The flame became a blaze which was never put out. In the concentration camp,Max had shown signs of humanity towards Lucia which was not in the Nazi textbook and still isn't. This could be valid today which is an alarming thought.

Welcome to the true wellspring of the most controversial and generally hated sub-genre in all of Exploitation cinema's vast universe; Naziploitation.Although the idea of WW2 concentration camp detainees and their Nazi captors being used for exploitative `thrills' was first spat out at the screen in the form of infamous `Nasty' "Love Camp 7" in 1969, that film actually played like a `Women in Prison' flick more than anything else.It was certainly not erotic, fetishist, violently nasty or decadent.In the same year Visconti's excellent "The Damned" (also starring Bogarde with Rampling in a support role) offered up our first real mix of eroticism and sumptuous decadence with the fetishistic power of the Nazi image.But Visconti's film was a serious dramatic work and importantly set pre-war so as such none of the other essential trappings of the Naziploitation genre were present.Then, a surprisingly long 5 years later, Liliana Cavani gave us "The Night Porter".Here for the first time the controversial elements of out and out Nazi imagery and ideology mixed with the sight of naked men and women huddled into a dank concentration camp at the sadistic mercy of their all powerful captors was unleashed upon the worldwide cinema audience.And it all came with the coating of art house credibility.But for all its art house trappings, philosophical musings and moments of deftly acted deep character study (from two excellent lead performances) it is in fact the glue of out and out exploitation that ultimately holds the film together."The Night Porter" is a film that some will instantly hate for even existing, some will hate once they get half way through as they gaze at the clock, while others will pick through the film's pacing faults and less than successful ex-Nazi characters to discover a groundbreaking mix of art house extremity, serious psychological study and out and out exploitation filled with powerful moments, masterful cinematography, iconic images and a truly notorious cinematic legacy.