Hotel Desire - DVD

Movie: Single mother Antonia (Saralisa Volm) has been living only for her son for eight years, shuttling back and forth between her duties as a mother and her work in a hotel, and in the process has completely lost sight of her role as a woman, her desires and passions. Stuck in the routine of everyday life, she seems to have become completely invisible to men. But when she meets blind guest Julius (Clemens Schick) at work on a particularly hot day, Antonia's destiny takes a surprising and exciting new path.

Hotel Desire is a sensually filmed erotic drama, but it's more than just the union of two beautiful bodies on open display. Funded largely through crowd funding, the short film begins with the footage that served as an appetizer, so to speak, for filmmaker Sergei Moya to get as much funding as possible for his work. In beguiling slow motion footage, the viewer sees Antonia in the shower. Only this short scene could give the impression that one is watching a typical (soft) porn flick. Moya plays very cleverly with this expectation, then also promised to completely redefine the term as PorNEOgraphy. But as leading actress Saralisa Volm says so well in the interview on the DVD: if you actually expect to see a real porno, you will be disappointed, because before the much discussed sex scene you are first served an almost cloying story. Quickly the almost dream sequence like entrance scene is transformed into dreary reality when Antonia is jolted out of her thoughts by the heavy banging against the bathroom door and the hectic everyday life takes over.

The viewer then accompanies Antonia on her way to work, where her repeated tardiness causes some problems, but they are quickly sorted out thanks to very helpful colleagues. This scene, which was shot while the hotel was still in operation, is also an important part of the story just because of the engaging location and the good supporting actors like Jan-Gregor Kremp, Herbert Knaup or Frederick Lau, even if it is easily forgotten in the face of the sex scene that follows.

As for this sex scene, it may well be more explicit in some moments than other scenes of this kind in films with a 16 release. Fingers between labia or an erect penis briefly fill the frame there. But the editing and camerawork, as well as the almost bombastic orchestral background of the act, quickly remove what is shown from any accusation of pornography. Rather, sex is shown here as exactly what it should be: something beautiful, fun, and good for you. It's not scandalous, nor is it really objectionable.

Sure, some may end up questioning the point of it all. Not everyone will get the story, which is why it then naturally seems as if the twenty minutes before sex are just an excuse to give the sensual play between the sheets some dramaturgical depth or something like pretension. But this accusation doesn't really do the film justice. Because even if a short film that spends half of its running time with an extended sex scene could be accused of a certain lack of depth in terms of content, the director still manages very well to show in the short introductory time what kind of woman Antonia is and why this sex is so important, so special and so redeeming for her. And that's exactly why the sex, just like the short film, is just not trivial.

A short praise goes of course to the two main actors Saralisa Volm and Clemens Schick, who with their uninhibited, courageous performance also contribute significantly to the fact that Hotel Desire is not a pornographic - or porNEOgraphic - film, but a sensual drama with a very nice finale, which lovers of German dramas, for whom it can be a little more explicit, can definitely enjoy. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The beautiful images of the film are presented in very warm colors, through which not only the heat of this hottest day in seven years is well accentuated. The image sharpness is at a good level, soiling or image distortions are not present. The sound is rather restrained and is mainly determined by the dialogues and the quiet music. Good.

Extras: The DVD's bonus material starts with a very informative audio commentary by director Sergej Moya and his cinematographer Casey Campbell. The two talk with audible enthusiasm about the origins of the project, the shooting in the running hotel business or even about reactions from viewers and critics. It's a very good, insightful commentary, supplemented by interviews and a look at the film's premiere. Also included is another short film worth watching, which Moya made with Clemens Schick, as well as the trailer for the film. Good.

Conclusion: Hotel Desire is a beautifully photographed erotic drama that skilfully plays with the audience's expectations, only to fully satisfy them in its own way at the end. Even though the term porn has been bandied about time and time again in connection with Hotel Desire, this designation is completely inappropriate, despite some quite explicit moments. Rather, the short film is the story of two people who, for a brief moment together, find the passion again that has been lost to their lives. On DVD, the short film presents itself in technically very good quality and also has some very good extras to offer. If you like German dramas and tingling eroticism, you should definitely check in Hotel Desire!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp