Liliana Cavani
Italian Director Liliana Cavani’s ‘The Night Porter’ (1974) is an arousing and erotic drama starring Charlotte Rampling as Lucia, a concentration camp survivor who rekindles a sadomasochistic bond with her former torturer and Nazi police officer (played by Dirk Bogarde) years after World War II. Set in Vienna in 1957, Lucia works as a night porter at the hotel where she secretly meets with her master and aids her disquieting past with the exhilaration of enduring such sexual endeavors.
““Elegant, gorgeously soundtracked, captivating use and treatment of dance.””
Known for her historical filmmaking motifs and passion for disrupting and challenging the limits of political censorship, Liliana Cavani manipulates sensitive feelings of anguish from concentration camp prisoners in ‘The Night Porter’ and invites sensationalism to make a thrilling erotic drama. Silver-tongued romanticism interchanges with unforgiving assertiveness within the characters, and sensuality and grimness are intertwined throughout the entire film.
The Night Porter
director LILIANA CAVANI
year 1974
director of photography ALFIO CONTINI
cast CHARLOTTE RAMPLING, DIRK BOGARDE, PHILIPPE LEROY, GABRIELE FERZETTI and ISA MIRANDA
text ELLEN GRACE
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