A strip-club hostess arrives back at her suburban home to find her children missing. A trench-coat-wearing detective comes to investigate and is immediately suspicious. Where are the ‘two small bodies’ and why did she do it? Their relationship transforms into a power struggle of dominance, resistance and fulfillment. As they circle around each other, the balance of power changes and the game is played for the highest stakes. The two actors play off one another in subversive, thrilling ways, playing the audience as they play each other during the investigation.
This theatrical-cinematic interpretation of the claustrophobic two-person play by Neal Bell, deals with an illusion seemingly so crucial to men, many of whom even today still see women as either Madonnas or whores. Why can it not be possible for a mother to be a grudging, reluctant parent without being a child killer? A powerful exercise in female humiliation, with the woman turning the tables on her aggressor.
Film details
- Countries of production
- Germany, USA
- Year
- 1993
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2020
- Length
- 85"
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
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