Anita: Dances of Vice
1987, dir. Rosa von Praunheim
"A kind of lunatic, low-budget fandango, with a honkytonk-Schoenberg score and ravishing visuals that suggest a flea market amalgam of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Threepenny Opera, Reefer Madness, and the Ballet Russe." - J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
The true story of Anita Berber (Ina Blum)—the notorious dancer whose outrageous nude cabaret performances, open drug use, and dalliances with men and women alike scandalized Weimer Germany before dying of tuberculosis at age 29—is brought to life in the visions of an eccentric old woman (Lotti Huber) in present-day West Berlin.
Written as a vehicle for his muse Lotti Huber, Rosa von Praunheim’s Anita: Dances of Vice (Anita – Tänze des Lasters) is a shimmering tribute to German expressionist cinema and a clear precursor to New Queer Cinema classics like Swoon and Poison.
2K restoration by the Deutsche Kinemathek.
