Seduction: The Cruel Woman

Wanda (Mechthild Großmann) is a dominatrix who runs an S/M performance space in Hamburg. Cruelty is her profession, but devising traps for her lovers—including lovelorn Gregor (Udo Kier), naive innocent Justine (Sheila McLaughlin), and jaded Caren (Carola Regnier)—is her specialty. Though all know the rules of the game, not all are willing to play their roles—but the show must go on…

Inspired by the writings of the Baron Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Monika Treut and Elfi Mikesch’s Seduction: The Cruel Woman (Verführung: Die grausame Frau) is a coolly sensual tribute to masochism and obsession in all of its forms, and a seminal work of lesbian cinema.

2K restoration by the Hamburg Kinemathek.