THE NIGHT PORTER (1974)

Twelve years after the end of World War II, a woman is shocked to discover that the front desk clerk at the hotel she is staying at in Vienna is same guy who used to torture and rape her at a Nazi prison camp. The audience wouldn't be surprised if she went all MS .45 on this dude and shot his dick off then stabbed him in his mutilated crotch with a pair of rusty scissors, but no, instead she retreats back to her room and smiles as she fondly remembering their sadomasochistic relationship and how he presented her the decapitated head of another prisoner she didn't like.  Yeah, these two are both batshit crazy...and completely fascinating.

Unfortunately, instead of focusing solely on their bizarre sexual relationship, the film detours off into a boring tangent about his Nazi war crime buddies.  Nobody cares.  That shit's boring.  I want to know more about the psychological relationship between this two psychopaths.  How old was she when she entered the camp?  Did she have these perverse desires before she met this guy?  Was she into torturing animals?  Was she a virgin?  What was his youth like?  Did she hurt herself like ol' girl in THE PIANO TEACHER?  How did their relationship develop?  How were they split up?  How did he escape?  Why, if she was truly into this sort of perversion, did she end up marrying such a boring guy?  Is this an example of Stockholm Syndrome?  If so, what's up with the fact that 12 years has gone by and she's still mega horny for this guy?

There's tons of interesting directions this film could have went, but sadly, instead of delving deeper into the connection between these two lost souls, THE NIGHT PORTER simply fizzles out and you spent the last 30 minutes bored out of your mind.  Nice photography, strong performances by the two leads, very mild nudity, zero violence.

THE NIGHT PORTER is worth watching, but ultimately it's just an intriguing idea that never even comes close to reaching it's full potential.  Somebody with talent should remake it.

NSFW artwork