Seduction: The Cruel Woman
Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, London, Covent Garden
About
A screening of the film Seduction: The Cruel Woman, introduced by season curator Nico Hughes, an MA student in Film Studies at the National Film and Television School. Directed by Elfi Mikesch and Monika Treut, the film follows Wanda, a dominatrix and businesswoman who stages sadomasochistic rituals as spectacles in a Hamburg gallery. Inspired by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs, it places a woman's bisexual desire at the centre, starring Mechthild Großmann and Udo Kier. Banned for 18 years by the German Federal Board of Censorship, it is now a seminal work of queer cinema.
Written by a model, sources: ica.art
Critics
The review admires the film's striking visuals, colour-saturated camerawork and frank, artistic treatment of a subculture rarely shown with such intensity. It finds the documentary-style monologues effective, though the portrait stays cool and distant rather than emotionally engaging.
Reviews: WLW Film Reviews, TMDb
Trailer
Showtimes
Thu 12 Nov
Institute of Contemporary ArtsThe Mall, London
Venue
Institute of Contemporary Arts is in London’s Covent Garden.
The Mall, London
Institute of Contemporary Arts 43 more events- Director
- Elfi Mikesch and Monika Treut
- Year
- 1985
- Runtime
- 84 min
