Cinema
The Night Porter
Il portiere di notte
Liliana Cavani · 1974
Synopsis
Vienna, 1957. Max, a former SS officer, works as a night porter in a grand hotel. One evening he recognises among the guests Lucia, who has come with her husband, a conductor, and whom he had known as a prisoner in a concentration camp. She recognises him too. Flashbacks bring back what they went through in the camp, and a troubled relationship, made of domination and dependence, is reborn between them.
Context
The idea for the film came from a documentary the director had made about women in the Resistance, and from the testimonies of camp survivors. The screenplay is by Liliana Cavani, with Italo Moscati, Barbara Alberti and Amedeo Pagani. Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling play the two leading roles. In Italy, the censors banned it outright, objecting in particular to a scene in which the female lead takes the initiative in the love scenes; the director appealed. Its representation of Nazism and sexuality has divided critics.
Who it is for
A film of nearly two hours, in English, harsh and disturbing, which mixes the postwar present and memories of the camp.
Prizes and reception
The greatest commercial and media success of its director, despite the scandal that accompanied its release.
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