Review of Pandora's Box (2009) by Alexandria M — 29 Sep 2009

I really don't know what to make of this film. I did enjoy it; the performances--especially that of Louise Brooks--are very compelling and Pabst's direction is very sophisticated and he gets some nice visuals by placing his characters in smoky gambling dens and shadowy London streets.

But I can't help but feel that the filmmakers are trying to pander to a 1920s male audience simultaneously enthralled and repelled by female sexuality. Carl Dreyer's Day of Wrath is similar to this film in terms of narrative but it was more nuanced and identified puritanism as greater danger than sex.