Frauenzimmer - DVD

Film: With her documentary Frauenzimmer, filmmaker Saara Aila Waasner allows a very interesting but also unusual look behind the scenes of the oldest trade in the world. The film follows three women who, despite their advancing age, hold their own in prostitution. The 58-year-old Christel, who only discovered something like a desire for sexuality at the age of 49, has been working as a prostitute since she was 51. She has developed self-confidence over the years by learning that many young, attractive men also like to go to older women. Karolina, 64, also started relatively late as a dominatrix. She received her first client at the age of 50. And finally Paula, 49, has been working as a prostitute for 25 years and now runs a brothel in Berlin with four other women.

Very openly, the three women talk about how they came to their profession, tell of their not always easy past and their dreams for the future. Karolina in particular finds this somewhat difficult, as she was repeatedly told by her mother as a child that it was not proper to follow one's dreams, as this was immodest. Christel, on the other hand, used to suffer from depression, unable to feel real emotions. Today she enjoys love, life and sex and is not willing to change that so quickly. And Paula talks about her first great love, first traumatic experiences and how she has opened up sexually significantly over the years and is no longer just lesbian, but bi. However, she rarely really has fun with clients. Usually it's just work, the clients are accordingly faceless and are only recognized by their sexual organs. But when she does fall in love, she's quite passionate about it.

What makes Frauenzimmer so successful is that Saara Aila Waasner treats the subject matter without any voyeurism. Even if the stories of the women or the short glimpses into their everyday life are sometimes emotional, the camera always keeps the necessary distance, so that you as a viewer do not get the feeling that the life and fate of these women is exploited in any way. You are a viewer, but not a voyeur. At the same time, the view of the work as a prostitute is unadorned, free of common clichés and pleasantly unbold.

So in the end the impression remains that Frauenzimmer is a very honest, sensitive film, which sometimes moves, then again can convince with humor and uninhibited openness. An entertaining portrait of three women who, despite many obstacles, have not let life get them down and who, in the end, show that it is never too late to follow your dreams. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation is on a good level for a documentary. The image is largely clean, small blurs, on the other hand, can hardly be avoided in this subject, but also hardly fall negatively into the weight. The sound is restrained, the interviews are mixed well understandable, whereby the stereo mix is completely sufficient. Good!

Extras: In addition to the trailer for the film, there are a few image galleries with impressions from the shoot or from the presentation of the film at the Berlinale.

Conclusion: Frauenzimmer is a very interesting documentary that takes a sensitive, unembellished and uninhibited look at the subject of prostitution. A strong portrait of three interesting women, which can be thoroughly recommended to lovers of social documentaries and so entertaining as very human portraits. Recommended

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp