Double Exposure

Anita – Tänze des lasters (Anita – Dances of Vice)
von Praunheim’s film celebrates the legend of Anita Berber, the notorious German dancer whose nude performances, drug dalliances, and sexual liberation came to epitomize 1920s decadence in Berlin. A true provocateur, Berber’s thrill of exposing her naked body on the streets of Berlin resulted in her institutionalization. The director tells the story of Mrs. Kutowski, an elderly schizophrenic whose psychological appropriation of Berber’s character bleeds into her real existence and she, like Berber, is sent to an asylum. Despite her restraints, the anarchic, provocative, and crass outbursts of Mrs. Kutowski seem to parallel Berber’s rebellious spirit as the line between the lives of the women begins to blur. The film’s cinematographic approach, which alternates black-and-white and color film, reinforces the poignant juxtaposition of era, age, convention, and conduct. Video courtesy of Rosa von Prauheim.

Lost Highway
The surreal and cryptic journey of Lost Highway begins when a wealthy jazz saxophonist played by Bill Pullman suspects his beautiful wife is cheating, and he starts receiving surveillance videotapes of their home. He is framed for the murder of his purportedly unfaithful young wife and sent to jail. While in prison the saxophonist mysteriously morphs into a mechanic, and the ensuing investigation becomes riddled with even more inexplicable occurrences, until the entire plot seems to metamorphose into a dark vortex, or perhaps another movie altogether. Print courtesy of Focus Features.