Ms Kathleen's Movie Review

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Venus in Furs (1994)

Directed by: Victor Nieuwenhuijs, Maartje Seyferth

Cast:

André Arend van de Noord .... Severin

Anne van de Ven .... Wanda

Claire Mijnals

Raymond Thiry

Hilt de Vos

Runtime: 70 min

Country: Netherlands

Language: Dubbed in the English language with subtitles in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, and Japanese.

Color: Black and White

There have been a number of attempts to bring Leopold von Sacher-Masosh’s book to the screen (I know of at least two other movie versions of “Venus in Furs”, a 1967 and a 1969 version), and in my opinion, the world is still waiting for this erotic tale to be done right.

This 1994 version is set in modern times but to its credit, it holds closely to Leopold von Sacher-Masosh’s vision, departing in only a few scenes. However, if you have not read the book, you might have trouble following the story line because this story is shot in a series of flashbacks.

The DVD’s cover exclaims “Beautifully shot in detail, with dialogue kept to a minimum, this film flows like an erotic poem”. While I will agree it is an artsy film with an abundant use of creeping shadows and light, dimly lit rooms, and tasteful nudity (and a lot of it), I do not agree that it “flows like an erotic poem”.

The poorest character choice was Anne van de Ven as Wanda. Her on-screen persona did not match the sophistication, maturity and dominance portrayed by Wanda in the book.