aaron-71

This strange, interesting, but not terribly involving documentary traces the life of performer Zarah Leander and tries to examine why she has such a popular following along gay men. It is composed of film clips of the late Diva as will as interviews with people who worked with her, fans, an a female impersonator who badly imitates her in a cabaret nightly. I don't think this film was every released in this country but can only be seen in small film festivals in the U.S.

This line uttered by a malfunctioning, alcoholic, robot/wife turns this thriller into camp territory. The provocative and disturbing subject matter is turned into a host of tacky costumes, awkward dialogue, and terrible acting, particularly by Katherine Ross. Her discovering of her robot double about to kill her is pathetic. It seemed as if the director couldn't get a better cast (there is a Ruth Gordon look-a-like in the supporting role who was a popular actress at the time) with the exception of Paula Prentice who has the most fun role. A similar fate occurs with a movie on the similar topic, Handsmaid Tale, but this is much more fun, even if the directing and cinematography are often poor. It's one of my favorite bad movies.

I saw this virtually unreleased film in the U.S. at a film festival and was both moved and compelled by this strange story of a woman's disintegration into madness and sex addiction. There's never been a character study like this. Apparently, the director and the actress wrote the film based on their own passed relationship and the painful honesty that it dramatizes makes it difficult to watch at times. Audiences often dismissed it as just another French sex film, but it examines the often deep recesses of the human personality with unflinching realism.