Perhaps Marian Dora’s most poetic and thoughtful work, Das Verlangen Der Maria D stands out as a unique and strangely at times beautiful piece of underground filmmaking. Amazing camera-work, score and acting as per usual but with a lack of violence, again making this stand out amongst Dora’s other works.
I say beautiful in the sense that this film questions life and death, what makes a person “beautiful” and memories attached to the dead & how ultimately despite being dead, it is our person that defines us rather than our body.
Dora showcases this through a homage to works such as “Nekromantik”, using gross imagery and combining it with poetic dialog and a beautiful score to place us inside the mind of our main character, and how she sees what she is doing is out of love and care, despite the fact it is gross and wrong.
That being said, there are some aspects of the film I find to be gross for the sake of it and I’m not a fan of the ending, I am open to hearing interpretations as to what the ending signifies however as Dora clearly has artistic intent behind it, but it doesn’t really display that to me.
Overall, one of the most unique films from the underground I recommend anyone gives a watch. Definitely not for all & works much more as an art film than extreme horror which will put some people off, but make some more interested. Just be warned that the images are still very disgusting at times, but do (mostly) serve a purpose. Recommended!
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