citizencorpsnyc
Who needs subtitles. Just watch it in raw German. Best exemplifies Berlin as a place for elitist bi sexuals and Weimar bohemian types that circulated in the 1920's - 1930's. We are spared spartan Liebensraum volker angry butch women with their Teutonic hairy underarms, since the director skilfully selected only what men like to see: beautiful feminine women getting it on with each other. Of of course, there is a human element to all this, with the Fascist's looming in the background and all that. Too bad the story line could not wane a few more years of script, say, until the Russians invaded the city. Or, perhaps, they could have escaped to Nagasaki in a German U boat with the Japanese Ambassador. (Material for a sequel?) I got such a kick out of this film I would rate it five stars (like Eisenhower's rank) and keep it in my personal collection along with Peter Lorre's "M" and Montgomery Clift's, "The Big Lift".
ik-12
This may not be as good as "The Night Porter", but it's a great film, and a pure Cavani: twisted plot, psychological dramas, attractions with no limits, and the characters trying to balance their lives between the beautiful and the ugly, the duties and the crimes... Once again the plot is complex and interesting; every twist of it kept me guessing - 'till the very end.The actors are not as famous as in some of her other films, but play their roles quite well and are naturally belivable.A film noir that may not be for everyone, but is a must for anyone who liked other works by Cavani.
Claudio Carvalho
In 1938, in Berlin, Louise von Hollendorf (Gudrun Landgrebe) is a well married woman frequenting art classes. Her husband Heinz von Hollendorf (Kevin McNally) is a successful politician in a pre-war German and they have an excellent relationship. During the class, Louise meets Mitsuko Matsugae (Mio Takaki), an exotica and very discreet Japanese young woman, daughter of the Ambassador of Japan in Berlin. They start a friendship that is followed by a lesbian love between them. Mitsuko indeed is a very seductive and amoral bisexual woman and seduces also Heinz. This relationship ends in a tragedy. This dark and heavy romance has a wonderful photography, and a beautiful reconstitution of a pre-war period. The cast has a great performance and this movie is really very underrated, maybe because of the polemical and excellent director Liliana Cavani. She had the courage of making the magnificent 'Night Porter', which offended many persons, and since them certain cinema critics have decided to crucifixe her work. The manipulated public opinion, based on these unfair critics, sometimes is induced to 'not-like' any of her films. 'Berlin Affair' is a film not recommended for all audience. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): 'Berlin Affair'
Cinebug
It has long been fashionable in critical circles to bash the films of Liliana Cavani. Her films tend to show sleazy low life characters---------even when they live in palatial mansions. Her controversial NIGHT PORTER was unjustly accused of being deplorable, and insult to the intelligence of the average moviegoer, an offense to Jews and women, and generally condemned by everyone of cinematic importance. For me, she is the modern purveyor of film noir at it's darkest.THE BERLIN AFFAIR tells the story of Mitsuko, daughter of the Japanese ambassador to Germany during the Nazi era. She is publicly quiet and demure, but in private, flamboyantly bisexual and seduces the wife of a high Nazi official-------and eventually the husband himself. This leads to a rather unusual ménage a trois with each member of the triangle becoming more and more jealous of the others. Eventually, this self-destructive relationship becomes harder and harder to resist in spite of the personal dangers to the individuals and their respective families and political causes.It would be easy to dismiss this film as another sleazy sex opera from Cavani. But a great deal is going on in this film---------politically, sexually, socially, racially and artistically. There is a definite message for those willing to see it-------and it would be more fun for each viewer to find it for himself. Ignore Leonard Maltin's opinion and decide for yourself.
AD
