This feature film is now available on Blu-ray from Cult Epics.
In 1995, Dutch writer/director Marleen Gorris earned a lot of attention for her feminist drama, Antonia’s Line. Curiously enough, it wasn’t a huge success in its home country, yet the picture became a hit abroad and ultimately won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The feature was also noteworthy in that it was the first movie directed by a woman to earn this cinematic honor. Of course, Antonia’s Line wasn’t Gorris’ cinematic debut, as she had previously been making films for several years in the Netherlands.
Broken Mirrors aka Gebroken Spiegels was the second narrative effort as writer/director. The film, about the nasty conditions faced by women working in an Amsterdam brothel, pulled no punches and created controversy during its release in the Netherlands. In fact, it ended up winning more accolades at international festivals than at home and wasn’t seen by large audiences. But as the years have passed, the title’s reputation has grown. In fact, it has now been restored in 4K from the original camera negative and is officially being released on Blu-ray in North America by Cult Epics. It’s a powerful movie that looks really impressive with its image upgrade and will likely win over an even larger number of fans.
Diane (Lineke Rijxman) is a mother with a young infant who has been left to fend for herself. Her husband is a drug-addict who wants no part of raising their child. With no employment options left, the lead makes the acquaintance of prostitute Dora (Henriette Tol) and decides to try working at a brothel. After dropping her child off with a neighbor, Diane spends her evenings working with other ladies in service of their male clientele. One of the other employees warns, “All men are bastards. Even the nice ones aren’t nice,” and viewers see evidence of this over the entire 108 minutes. Diane attempts to keep it together, but finds herself pushed to the limits as she endures both subtle and blunt forms of abuse. As if that isn’t enough, the film also follows an unseen serial killer who kidnaps a victim and torments her. As it turns out, he also may be one of the brothel’s frequent clients.
The movie benefits greatly from its cast and performances. The stars don’t look like Hollywood celebrities, but real people. Conversations between Diane, Dora and the other ladies of the brothel feel more authentic than other movies of the era and the film places a lot of attention on their backstories and what has forced them into the industry. For most, they are supporting children and families both at home, and sometimes abroad. The women are very sympathetic, making their trials tough to watch. Additionally, there is unique material presented about seemingly mundane brothel operations. The opening and closing scenes are particularly effective, showing us a stoic cleaning woman changing sheets and removing various messes in the rooms.
Character bits and details involving aspects one wouldn’t initially think about are the film’s strongest elements. The serial killer subplot does at times feel like a bit of an extended tangent. It doesn’t play out as expected or result in a confrontation that will please an average moviegoer. However, the use of the character does add another layer of heaviness to the proceedings. And as you may already have guessed, while the brutal acts of the psychopath are incredibly harrowing to witness, the behavior displayed by various strangers in the company of the prostitutes at times feels almost as punishing.
Yes, the movie is blunt in its delivery and does depict males in an almost uniformly horrible light. But why would one expect a quiet and subtle approach from what is essentially a protest movie showing viewers how prostitutes are regularly mistreated? The approach certainly works as a more honest depiction of the profession and brings light to the indignities forced upon many sex trade workers. It’s very compelling and well-made movie that likely plays much better with audiences today than it ever would have during its original release.
As mentioned, the movie looks quite striking and is very well shot. There are some intimidating shots of silhouettes at the door of the establishment that make an impression. And the sepia-toned serial killer sequences add a further iciness to the movie that does chill to the bone. Overall, it’s a very well-shot movie with the filmmaker’s unique personal stamp all over it. It has sympathetic characters, moves quickly and makes its point efficiently.
The Blu-ray also comes with a film historian commentary track featuring Peter Verstraten, an expert on Danish cinema. He offers some insight on the production as well as the controversy surrounding the film’s exhibition in the 80s. A number of local critics responded very negatively to it and its depictions of male characters. Verstraten admits that the movie sometimes goes to unnecessary extremes to make its point, but also notes that the film is unique, approaching its themes from a different perspective that hadn’t been attempted before. He also notes that the Blu-ray transfer is remarkable, looking sharper and cleaner than ever before. There are some lengthy unrelated tangents involving Danish movie history, but generally speaking the track is intriguing and informative.
There is also an interesting 1991 interview from Danish TV with an American sex worker discussing the need for unionization and more protection in the sex trade industry. Again, the extra adds more detail about the subject and presents a fascinating discussion between the figure and the host of the program. The disc also contains a promotional gallery of stills.
Broken Mirrors may not have been seen by many upon its initial release, but it clearly was ahead of its time and will speak to modern audiences. The performers are strong and it effectively depicts the struggles of prostitutes and the unpleasantness that goes on behind closed doors. Visually, the movie looks dynamic (probably better than it did when it actually played in cinemas). For anyone curious about this title, the new Cult Epics Blu-ray is well worth picking up.