Tracker Pixel for Entry

Beckermann Talks About Sex in ‘Mutzenbacher’

Cinema | August 21st, 2023

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

Ruth Beckermann’s “Mutzenbacher” invites viewers to consider the traditional dynamics of the erotic novel – and subsequent filmic depictions of eroticism – by rearranging the visual furniture most closely associated with the voyeuristic gaze privileging the straight, white, male producer/consumer.

The filmmaker uses “Josephine Mutzenbacher or, The Story of a Viennese Whore as Told by Herself,” the anonymously published 1906 book, as a vehicle to explore sexuality, masculinity, taboo, power, and fantasy.

Beckermann invites roughly 100 men, age 16 to 99, to “audition” for a film by reading aloud several graphic excerpts as solo performers or in pairs and small groups.

The tactic initially mirrors the longstanding custom of the humiliating “cattle call” tryout in which young women are brutally judged as much for their physical appearance as for their acting ability (see charged examples in “Showgirls,” “Girl 6,” “Always Shine,” “Mulholland Dr.” and many others).

Beckermann, who we hear interacting with her subjects from behind the camera, does not ask the participants to undress, but many other elements receive sharp deconstruction. As Charles Bramesco shrewdly observes, “Every aspect of the process, from the forced-femme narration fostering identification across gender lines to the subjugated approval-seeking recalling anxious starlets, has been calibrated to undercut macho impulses so that we might explore what lies beneath.”

At one time attributed to Arthur Schniztler and later credited to “Bambi” author Felix Salten, “Josephine Mutzenbacher” recounts the debauched carnal education of the title character as she looks back from middle age to her life from 5 to 13, the period before she finds employment as a prostitute.

Beckermann stages her interviews in a former coffin factory, frequently emphasizing a sofa covered in a pinkish floral motif as a triple reminder of source material, Freudian psychoanalysis, and casting couch. Viewers unfamiliar with the novel are brought up to speed through the fascinating exchanges that Beckermann shares with the colorful parade of curious and aspiring performers.

Since at least 1970, more than a dozen film versions inspired by “Josephine Mutzenbacher” have been produced, along with live cabaret adaptations, parodies, and audiobook recordings. As Beckermann points out through the on-camera interviews that preface several of the conversations included in her film, the story is well-known to native German speakers, equally as famous as Cleland’s “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure” (1748) is in the English language realm. Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s “Venus in Furs” (1870) and several of Sade’s writings boast broader recognition. The latter’s works had a clear influence on the author of “Josephine Mutzenbacher.”

Beckermann teases all manner of responses from her interview subjects. Some lean into the most salacious and disturbing content, lamenting what they perceive as our current era’s more conservative moral climate. Others squirm in embarrassment or discomfort at the ribald prose.

The filmmaker frequently uses the readings as a starting point from which to probe the personal histories and moral beliefs of the volunteers. The cumulative effect of Beckermann’s men-only conceit ultimately directs viewers to reframe aspects of identification with others, as the readers narrate the action via the first-person perspective from which they recite. 

Recently in:

Press release Celebrate Dinosaur Day on Thursday, Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum (612 E Boulevard Ave. in Bismarck). This free, family-friendly program is open to all ages. A…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu The Northwest Blade, from Eureka, South Dakota, published a wonderful story in August 2020. It’s called “Granddaughter keeps Grandmother’s precious chamomile seeds,” by Cindy…

Sunday, October 19, 10 a.m.Buffalo River State Park, 565 155th St. S., Glyndon, MNHosted by the Red River Valley Chapter of Herbalists Without Borders at Buffalo River State Park for a fun fall day full of flora. (Say that three…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.com Yes, we know, everywhere you look, the world situation is mental. It’s almost inescapable just how tenuous life’s circumstances are. And how they are mostly — pretty much entirely — out of our…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill we be banging or whimpering at the end of the American empire?T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men” accurately portrays the end of most empires in his first lines: “We are the hollow men/…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gion and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The multiple meanings of the title location in Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s “Bone Lake” cover the sex and death spectrum that will flummox Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) as…

By HPR staffsubmit@hpr1.com Mark the first weekend of October on your calendar. It’s the weekend of the Studio Crawl, which takes us all on a wonderful, metro-wide tour of our talented (and often wacky) arts community. On October…

Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

Press Release As Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, Essentia Health is highlighting an innovative — and recently expanded — program that brings early breast cancer detection services to rural communities. Essentia’s mobile…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.comMoral accountability and the crisis of leadership  As a recovering person living one day at a time for the last 35 years, I have learned not to judge others because I have not walked in…