Post by klep on Jun 28, 2021 15:58:13 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/28: The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant
PRIDE WEEK!
Note: This week's essay is graciously provided by a guest contributor.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder offers an important hint right at the title cards in the opening frames of the film:
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
a case history
dedicated to the one who became Marlene here.
This is a movie about Petra von Kant, 35 years of age, successful fashion designer, glamorous, more than a little wealthy, and more than a little self-centered. She's narcissistic and enjoys power games, but she could probably take or leave the flexing of power. What she thrives on is when every relationship is about her wants and needs.
And yet, Marlene.
Petra's cousin Sidonie comes by for a visit one morning and the two women talk for ages about their husbands (Petra was widowed by her first husband and has divorced her second husband) and their approaches to marriage. Nothing in the dialogue overtly signals sapphic inclinations, but the two women have their entire conversation while lounging very closely together on Petra's bed. And then Sidonie introduces Karin, a naïve married 23-year-old woman who's just moved back from spending years out of the country, and whose husband is still very much out of the country. Sidonie didn't invite Karin for no reason; Sidonie invited Karin because she knew Petra would be interested in the younger woman.
And yet, Marlene.
Petra invites Karin over the following day for one-on-one time. Petra wants to make Karin her muse, and in exchange wants to sponsor Karin financially and help her launch a career in acting and modeling. It's a clumsy seduction where she constantly tries to align her responses with what she thinks Karin is about to say, and Karin always says something different. Karin knows what's going on and doesn't avoid Petra's advances, but she's not about to make it easy. (Not so naïve after all.)
And yet, Marlene.
Fast forward months later. Petra and Karin have been deeply involved and Petra is enamored. But the tables have turned. Karin is bored by the situation and bored by Petra. She knows she now has the power and it's time enough for her to focus on her wants and needs being met. Petra is a wreck in a downward spiral. She could tolerate the boredom, but she doesn't know how to function when she's not the center of the universe. Petra showers Karin with emotional and financial bribes, but for some reason that's not enough to make Karin less bored.
And yet, Marlene.
Petra's downward spiral turns into a plummeting free fall after the breakup. Petra has always done the breaking up and has never been broken up with in any relationship. She seems to only exist on the floor (which, to be fair, is a wonderful shag carpet and it's a great floor to exist on), clutching a bottle of gin and pouncing on the phone whenever it rings, desperately hoping the phone will be Karin and Karin will be returning. Petra's mom, teenage daughter, and cousin Sidonie stop by to celebrate Petra's birthday and are shocked to find her in such a sorry state. Petra lashes out at all three of them in her drunken heartbroken despair, smashing glasses, bottles, and a porcelain tea set. And being the center of her own universe, nothing consoles Petra and the only thing that slows her down is wearing herself out and physically collapsing.
(We get a sense of how indifferent Petra is to queer closets when her mom is the only person surprised that the relationship with Karin was romantic & sexual. Petra has likely never come out of the closet, and has likely never needed to except in cases where something really needed to be spelled out.)
And yet, Marlene.
Marlene is a fellow fashion designer and lives in Petra's house as her servant. She wears a very simple black dress and speaks no words at any point in the movie. I've seen references to this relationship being sadomasochistic, but I think that's an imprecise word. The only moments of physical intimacy, or even physical contact, are one early moment when Petra pulls Marlene in for a dance to music on the phonograph and one late moment when Marlene kisses Petra's hand. It's more that they have a Domme/submissive relationship dynamic that defines all their interactions.
Marlene is omnipresent and all-seeing. She's in every scene and we're almost always aware of her gaze as she watches Petra's relationships with other people. The longest stretch of time that the movie goes without Marlene visible on screen keeps Marlene present by the sound of her typewriter throughout the scene.
Petra bosses Marlene around and as her state of mind deteriorates she goes from playful commands of routine functions to barking orders to shouts of verbal abuse. We can tell from Marlene's body language, especially in one scene when she leans against a window in the next room, that this level of submission isn't easy and takes a lot of energy on Marlene's part.
When Petra comes to term with her broken relationship with Karin and with the damage she's doing to the other relationships in her life, she makes the first real attempt we've seen (and possibly ever) to decentralize herself and show interest in another person. And that's when we find out the one true dealbreaker for Marlene. Petra's dominance and Marlene's submission were codependent, perhaps in an unhealthy way, and were based around Petra being center of the universe and Marlene in Petra's orbit. Violating the D/s power dynamic with a stab at equality is Marlene's dealbreaker.
The most fascinating thing about Petra von Kant's movie is that it belongs to Marlene.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/5: Death Proof
CARS WEEK!
For Cars Week we'll be watching some fantastic chases in Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse contribution Death Proof, starring Kurt Russell as a drifter who lures girls into his car to kill. Be sure to join us next week for our discussion of Death Proof, available for rent at the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/29: In The Heights
The podcast concludes its look at musicals focused on the immigrant experience with this new John Chu film adapted from the Tony-winning stage show by Lin Manuel Miranda. Come join our discussion on Wednesday of In The Heights, in theaters and available on HBO Max.
PRIDE WEEK!
Note: This week's essay is graciously provided by a guest contributor.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder offers an important hint right at the title cards in the opening frames of the film:
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
a case history
dedicated to the one who became Marlene here.
This is a movie about Petra von Kant, 35 years of age, successful fashion designer, glamorous, more than a little wealthy, and more than a little self-centered. She's narcissistic and enjoys power games, but she could probably take or leave the flexing of power. What she thrives on is when every relationship is about her wants and needs.
And yet, Marlene.
Petra's cousin Sidonie comes by for a visit one morning and the two women talk for ages about their husbands (Petra was widowed by her first husband and has divorced her second husband) and their approaches to marriage. Nothing in the dialogue overtly signals sapphic inclinations, but the two women have their entire conversation while lounging very closely together on Petra's bed. And then Sidonie introduces Karin, a naïve married 23-year-old woman who's just moved back from spending years out of the country, and whose husband is still very much out of the country. Sidonie didn't invite Karin for no reason; Sidonie invited Karin because she knew Petra would be interested in the younger woman.
And yet, Marlene.
Petra invites Karin over the following day for one-on-one time. Petra wants to make Karin her muse, and in exchange wants to sponsor Karin financially and help her launch a career in acting and modeling. It's a clumsy seduction where she constantly tries to align her responses with what she thinks Karin is about to say, and Karin always says something different. Karin knows what's going on and doesn't avoid Petra's advances, but she's not about to make it easy. (Not so naïve after all.)
And yet, Marlene.
Fast forward months later. Petra and Karin have been deeply involved and Petra is enamored. But the tables have turned. Karin is bored by the situation and bored by Petra. She knows she now has the power and it's time enough for her to focus on her wants and needs being met. Petra is a wreck in a downward spiral. She could tolerate the boredom, but she doesn't know how to function when she's not the center of the universe. Petra showers Karin with emotional and financial bribes, but for some reason that's not enough to make Karin less bored.
And yet, Marlene.
Petra's downward spiral turns into a plummeting free fall after the breakup. Petra has always done the breaking up and has never been broken up with in any relationship. She seems to only exist on the floor (which, to be fair, is a wonderful shag carpet and it's a great floor to exist on), clutching a bottle of gin and pouncing on the phone whenever it rings, desperately hoping the phone will be Karin and Karin will be returning. Petra's mom, teenage daughter, and cousin Sidonie stop by to celebrate Petra's birthday and are shocked to find her in such a sorry state. Petra lashes out at all three of them in her drunken heartbroken despair, smashing glasses, bottles, and a porcelain tea set. And being the center of her own universe, nothing consoles Petra and the only thing that slows her down is wearing herself out and physically collapsing.
(We get a sense of how indifferent Petra is to queer closets when her mom is the only person surprised that the relationship with Karin was romantic & sexual. Petra has likely never come out of the closet, and has likely never needed to except in cases where something really needed to be spelled out.)
And yet, Marlene.
Marlene is a fellow fashion designer and lives in Petra's house as her servant. She wears a very simple black dress and speaks no words at any point in the movie. I've seen references to this relationship being sadomasochistic, but I think that's an imprecise word. The only moments of physical intimacy, or even physical contact, are one early moment when Petra pulls Marlene in for a dance to music on the phonograph and one late moment when Marlene kisses Petra's hand. It's more that they have a Domme/submissive relationship dynamic that defines all their interactions.
Marlene is omnipresent and all-seeing. She's in every scene and we're almost always aware of her gaze as she watches Petra's relationships with other people. The longest stretch of time that the movie goes without Marlene visible on screen keeps Marlene present by the sound of her typewriter throughout the scene.
Petra bosses Marlene around and as her state of mind deteriorates she goes from playful commands of routine functions to barking orders to shouts of verbal abuse. We can tell from Marlene's body language, especially in one scene when she leans against a window in the next room, that this level of submission isn't easy and takes a lot of energy on Marlene's part.
When Petra comes to term with her broken relationship with Karin and with the damage she's doing to the other relationships in her life, she makes the first real attempt we've seen (and possibly ever) to decentralize herself and show interest in another person. And that's when we find out the one true dealbreaker for Marlene. Petra's dominance and Marlene's submission were codependent, perhaps in an unhealthy way, and were based around Petra being center of the universe and Marlene in Petra's orbit. Violating the D/s power dynamic with a stab at equality is Marlene's dealbreaker.
The most fascinating thing about Petra von Kant's movie is that it belongs to Marlene.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/5: Death Proof
CARS WEEK!
For Cars Week we'll be watching some fantastic chases in Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse contribution Death Proof, starring Kurt Russell as a drifter who lures girls into his car to kill. Be sure to join us next week for our discussion of Death Proof, available for rent at the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/29: In The Heights
The podcast concludes its look at musicals focused on the immigrant experience with this new John Chu film adapted from the Tony-winning stage show by Lin Manuel Miranda. Come join our discussion on Wednesday of In The Heights, in theaters and available on HBO Max.