Die flambierte Frau

‭When this movie came out it was all over town, the "sinfulest" movie around: I would have given an arm and a leg to have seen it at the cinema, but I was too young for it then.

‭Decades later, I have just seen it for the first time, and to my delight it lived up to its reputation (unlike so many other movies). It turned out to be well worth the wait! This is one hell of a smart, erotic, intriguing, well-told movie. It's one of the best of its genre, one of the most memorable movies of the Eighties, and one of the classiest to have come out of Germany. It remains shocking and edgy until today, and was like a cultural bomb in its time when, years before the internet, homosexuality and sadomasochism were still very much on the cultural dark side of the moon.

‭Unlike many other movies dealing with prostitution (American Gigolo and Pretty Woman come to mind) it doesn't sugar-coat the business, although it's still pretty glamorous and probably a far sight from being documentarian. There is a synthetic, hypnotic atmosphere throughout, enhanced by the dubbed soundtrack (which is often detrimental to the atmosphere in other movies). The figures are well-defined but remain intriguing through their ambivalence -- main character Eva (Gudrun Landgrebe) is at the same time enticing and revolting, her gigolo-friend Chris (Matthieu Carrière) slick and vulnerable.

‭Only the final scene, it has to be said, is a bit of a letdown. I don't know what the director was thinking here -- maybe he was trying to avoid an X rating for "excessive violence" or something.

'Woman In Flames' begins with an unhappy wife leaving her home to pursue life as a call girl. What is perceived immediately is the abruptness of the move; there is only the monologue of Eva (played by Gudrun Landgrebe) for us to digest as testimony to her overwhelming unhappiness.

As soon as she moves out she calls and meets up with a madame; or the female equivalent of a pimp, is seems. Almost immediately Eva is thrust into and is apparently successful at being a call girl. Her clientele is upscale enough and the circles she travels in are such that almost no hint of danger is discernible; sadly, neither is there any hint of emotion on our part, either.

Landgrebe assumes an accomplished, extremely graceful and subtly erotic persona; acting, in a word, superbly. Her 'provocative smile', for which she is called on at a party by Chris, is indeed coquettish throughout. That she might be a successful call girl is entirely within the realm of possibility. Eva is one smooth operator.

Her liaison with Chris early in the film (he operates in a male parallel universe to Eva's) turns into love; and it is their outwardly enviable lifestyle that will be their undoing. Their relationship is not nearly as passionate as we would expect, and instead they seriously underplay their attraction. Several mild twists and small surprises occur, not the least of which is Eva's increasing skill at satisfying domination/submission clients.

Eventually we see that neither party is happy with the arrangement nor can they continue in this fashion. We know they will part, but we can't imagine how it might end, which is enough reason to see it through.

Incredibly cruel and violent, the ending is less satisfying than the noir-like path of the story prepares for us. The unbelievable turn of events is one of two false notes in the film – the other being the opening! But overall the mechanical world of love-for-hire is presented stylistically and non-judgmentally, placing 'Woman In Flames' somewhat in the manner of David Lynch's 'Blue Velvet', but without the onslaught of craziness. We are voyeurs but cannot in the final analysis care or feel sorry for any of them.

Rating: Three Stars.

Just as many here have said. It is a very good film with a tremendously weak ending. The whole final scene doesn't make sense

Gudrun Landgrebe S&M scenes are all great, her story is great. On the other hand, Chris is a weak character. He's just a jealous psychopath who hates to see her love earning so much money as a Dominatrix.

I saw this movie in 1983 when it was released. Gudrun Landgrebe acted superbly as a wife and woman with no respect. If you find it in the video store, please rent it and cheer her on!