Obviously, Ullmann is of this new, probably "straight" but certainly not "narrow" variety of, well, whatever passes for an up-and-coming star, anymore. So, as is my wont, I went looking for whatever else he's been in, and today this hidden gem arrived from Netflix, called Verfolgt (eng: Punish Me).
You can expect the same, narrowing semi-slander in the reviews you see creeping into coverage of Ma mère. Punish Me is less transgressive in content, but perhaps even more so in conception. 16 year old Jan, a Jimmie Dean type truant with Sal Mineo's drop-dead looks, is released from punkdom to the tutelage of 51 year old probation officer Elsa (played by Maren Kroymann). She's supposed to teach him a thing or two, but it turns out the bridge transports both ways. In a plot twist reminiscent of Teorema meets Ma mère, somewhere between tasteful and boundary-pushing, Jan seduces Elsa into a sadomasochistic relationship in which the precise meaning of the title not only becomes apparent, but also is actively explored in several of its sociological ramifications. As a true depiction of paraphilia (which is to say that sexual arousal becomes separated from actual sexual activity, in the form of a "fetish,"), no actual sex occurs-- this film is about internal life, not pornography. Though I can't help but add, the full rear nudity of Ullmann certainly lends adequate prurience, sui generis, to enter this one in the "Perv away!" files.
Trailer:
PSes: Oh, did I mention: 1. glorious black and white!; 2. the kid, i.e. the masochist, emphatically initiates the whole thing; 3. bigotry and oppression vs. harmless but transgressive sexuality figures prominently in the story... just like in Sommersturm. Also, Kostja is devastatingly hot, and obviously cool.
Extra credit: what is the nature of the system in which this kind of relationship makes sense?
Hey, there be a comments section, discuss.
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