Many people considerRoger Ebertto be one of the definitive voices in the world of film criticism. Praised by Werner Herzog as a “solider of cinema” and beloved by millions, his opinions weren’t always embraced as gospel truth. One of the most scathing reviews he ever wrote was forThe Night Porter, which coincidentally celebrates its fortieth anniversary on October 1st,2024. Ebert’s review, which describedThe Night Porteras a “despicable attempt to titillate us through memories of persecution and suffering,” certainly makes note of the controversial aspect of an affair between a former Nazi concentration camp guard and an inmate under his charge.
Liliana Cavini’s film, with its themes of Stockholm syndrome, sadomasochism, and homoerotic undertones, has been dismissed by some as repugnant and vile. Beneath the surface ofThe Night Porter, there exists a broader portrait of the Nazi regime, one of hypocrisy, repressed homosexuality, and an examination of the degeneration and desperation of power. Four decades after its release,The Night Porterremains a masterclass in viewing relationships and cruelty through the gaze of transgression.The Night Porteris an unflinching gaze into the abyss, the same one that Nietzsche referred to as staring back into us.
The Complex Roles of Master and Servant
Max (Dirk Bogarde) is the night porter in an upscale Vienna hotel, hiding from his past as anSS concentration camp guard. Wanting to be left alone and have an existence comparable to a “church mouse,” as he describes it, he’s in the process of getting ready for a mock trial held by some of his former SS comrades.Everything changes one day when Lucia (Charlotte Rampling), a former camp inmate who was under Max’s charge, attends an opera one night, and the two notice one another from afar.
Cavani utilizes flashbacks to illustrate their past, which mirrors the audience’s relationship with the film. Max films her up close as Lucia stands in line for an inspection in a concentration camp.The vulnerability of Lucia’s nakedness and Max assuming the role of filmmaker reinforcethe voyeuristic rolethat Cavani places the audience in.
The basic premise of any sadomasochistic relationship is one that relies on the duality of master and servant. Formulated by the Marquis de Sade through his characters of Justine and Juliette, it becomes a simple dichotomy of who receives the punishment and who holds the whip. In the flashbacks that depict Max and Lucia in the concentration camp, it’s more than apparent that Max is in a role of domination, with Lucia assuming the role of the servant.
Now,with Max being forced to confront his past as a war criminal, these roles are intrinsically reversed, as Max runs the risk of being brought to justice if Lucia chooses to turn him in.Cavani’s process of displaying these complex roles, while seen by many as repugnant, isn’t the first film of its type to explore the dichotomy of the relationship between a guard and inmate who are reunited after the war.
The Hypocrisy of the Nazi Regime
While the film was never officially finished,Passenger, made in 1963, told the story of a former female camp guard reunited with a female passenger on a cruise ship.LikeThe Night Porter,Passengeruses flashbacks and sexual tension throughout and explores the dichotomy of master and servant. An aspect that was lost on Ebert in his review was howCavani utilizes homoerotic undertonesto expose the hypocrisy of the Nazi regime.
One of Max’s wartime comrades, Bert (Amedeo Amodio), entertains Max in his hotel suite by performing a dance; Cavani utilizes flashback to show this same dance being performed at the camp while dressed provocatively in a pair of briefs, his face made up in gaudy makeup. This continuity with the former members of the SS enjoying the same homoerotic content in their current lives as they did when they were in power illustratesthe hypocrisy of the regime’s stance on homosexuality.WhenThe Night Porterreceived a release from The Criterion Collection, an interview with Cavani reinforced this, with her stating that she felt that the SS was “nothing more than a product of a choreographer.”
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Integrating Subtlety and Subversion
The sexualized content thatThe Night Porteris known for is certainly quite upfront and displays the inner workings of sadomasochism and roles assigned by power. However,The Night Porterpossesses just as much content beneath the surface and highlights many aspects of the Nazi regime and their blatant hypocrisy.
The former members of the SS and their futile attempts to hold on to their status as the pseudo-pretorian guard of the Nazi regime aren’t just illustrated in their continual camaraderie with one another but also through a supporting character,Countess Erika Stein (Ira Miranda), an invalid aristocrat with whom Max is forced to cow-tow to.The Countess, while taking the form of a diminished symbol of power, is a direct reference to Erika, a popular marching song sung by the SS. In fact, the song is notable for being in two other films related tothe Nazi regime,UprisingandSchindler’s List.
There is no other scene inThe Night Portermore synonymous with the film than that of Lucia in a nightclub and singing “If I Could Wish for Something,” a tragic song about longing for nostalgia. The scene is sometimes misinterpreted as purely being meant to titillate through its depictions of sexuality. However, as is the case with so much of the content inThe Night Porter, it’s a subversive way to illustrate the hypocrisy of Nazism.
“If I Could Wish for Something” was one of the many songs composed by Jewish songwriter Friedrich Hollaender, one of many German Jews who fled after Hitler’s rise to power. Many of the works of prominent Jewish writers, artists, and intellectuals were mercilessly purged in the early years of the Nazi regime.The fact that a group of Nazis are enjoying Hollaender’s work in an open setting once again shows the hypocrisy of their ideology.
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A Look Into the Darker Side of Humanity
Making accusations ofThe Night Porterattempting to titillate and be sexually explicit for the sake of being so further supports the aspect of the film being misinterpreted by so many.When sexuality is tripped of its erotic nature, it becomes an exposé of power and control, similar to what Pier Paolo Pasolini did inSalo, or the 120 Days of Sodoma year later.Still, this didn’t stop other films such asThe Gestapo’s Last OrgyandDeported Women of the SS Special Section, and others in the Nazi-sploitation sub-genre from attempting to mimic the stylefor the sake of providing shock value.
While the film is controversial, and for good reason,The Night Porterremains a vividly constructed piece of transgressive art that allows us to view Stockholm syndrome, power, subjugation, and the roles assigned to human beings involved with an authoritarian state.Any art that engages discourse and forces a reaction from its viewing audience plays an important role in the human experience.
What someone can take away from the performances of Charlotte Rampling and Dirk Bogarde is that the dichotomies of master and servant, submission and domination, and others aren’t as properly defined as we might assume them to be. The transgressive art that we engage in should always beopen to interpretation and analysis.
