Female Misbehavior (Shorts + Didn’t
Do It For Love feature)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras/Shorts: B Film: C+
I am not
the biggest fan of the work of Monika Truet simply because her work only deals
with so much I want to deal with, but I respect her desire to boldly deal with
al kinds of women that the mainstream ignore simply because they do not meet a
narrow idea of what a woman is or should be in society. By default, this demonstrates a certain
institutionalized misogyny. Female Misbehavior is the latest
collection of her work on DVD to show this.
The
shorts include Annie, a brief and
explicit portrait of Annie Sprinkle, porn-star, performance artist and sexual
diva. Dr. Paglia is a montage of interviews with the famed and
controversial Camille Paglia, the outspoken writer, theorist and author. Bondage centers on an S&M who uses
pain as pleasure, or something like that. Max
is the story of a transsexual who goes from female to male as much as possible. Didn’t
Do It For Love is a documentary about Norweigan sex symbol Eva Norvind, the
Mexican Marilyn Monroe in the 1960s who somehow became New York's leading
dominatrix turned therapist in the 1980s.
They add up to a conservative’s nightmare and an interesting at the
least look inside the lives of persons usually hidden by society for too many
reasons to go into here. I liked the
Paglia piece best, though the piece on Max was good and Annie strangely
bizarre.
All are
presented in 1.33 X 1 and are usually shot on video, which is fine, but don’t
expect much. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound
is simple stereo at best in all cases, but have the kind of echo and reverb
on-the spot tapings often offer. Extras
include stills & text on Norvind and text (bio/filmography) & interview
with Truet.
- Nicholas Sheffo
