Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Die Venusfalle" is an award-winning West German movie from 1988, so this one will have its 30th anniversary next year already. It runs for 100 minutes and is perhaps the most known filmmaking effort by writer and director Robert van Ackeren. And although he was only around the age of 40 when he shot it, this is one of his final works. It is also still somewhat known today, at least here in Germany, and it may still be the career-defining work for actress Sonja Kirchberger, but I am not really sure why people have not forgotten about it. Yes it is an award-winning movie, but really not on a level where the reception was anything special really. Zischler and Zacher are also known today here in Germany, but the rest of the cast are fairly unknown and there are no huge names involved here. I assume the reason why the film is still known to many may be a mix of the controversy and sexuality, even if the latter is not really on a level where it shocked me or aroused me just one bit. Sure the women in here are kinda hot, but so are the women in a thousand other movies. Maybe the suggestive title "The Venus Trap" helped the film's popularity. Unfortunately, I must say the acting and even more so the script weren't remotely memorable at any point of these over 1.5 hours. In addition, the film had more (many more) than just one moment when it dragged considerably and had just too many lengths. The film is not a failure, but there also isn't a single reason why it would stand out compared to other German films from the 1980s. Thumbs-down. Don't watch.

Karl Self A doctor is torn between three fabulously beautiful women in 1980ies Berlin with one oneiric sequence chasing the other -- and that's about it. It's the type of movie that can make an impression on you if you're watching it on the silver screen, but seen on the small screen of your boob tube it's simply not enough to capture and hold your imagination. Director Robert von Ackeren is a great stylist and has, in many ways, made one of the quintessential 1980ies movies: cold, glossy surfaces and sulphurous emotions in a city that looks more like metropolis than modern Berlin, and not much in the way of story, plot or narration.At the time of its release this movie was considered notorious, and Sonja Kirchberger was the talk of the town -- or rather, publicity photos of her flashing her boobs in that négligé were sprawled over magazine covers. Rather childishly, most professional critics seem to have taken umbrage against the fact that Kirchberger wasn't a professional actress but -- so the legend went -- a mere dental technician who was "scouted" by the director in some furniture catalog. Oh my god, an actress who's had a real job -- let's heat up the pyre! Another criticism seems to have been that the movie's visual style wasn't gritty and realistic enough -- which is also way off point, like criticizing a Vietnam war movie for not containing enough scenes with werewolves.Overall, the movie really lacks some sort of plot, it's mostly a bold, superficial vision of a neon-lit world where all women are gorgeous and prey on men. It would be interesting to see what von Ackeren can do with a good script.

max There is one insane fact about this movie i have come upon. once someone sees it he becomes hopelessly in love with the film and tries to hide its existence from the rest of the world. i can't put any other film that so captures the magic that is falling in love. it gets to the point that the box description makes the movie sound bad. people just don't want you to see it.just to get you on the concept. a guy has the perfect life - he has a successful clinic and is going to marry the perfect wife. one day he makes a phone call, dials the wrong number, the woman on the other side says "hello" and he knows she is the love of his life. torn between his perfect life and this unrealistic notion that he should ruin them for the woman he never saw, he wanders around the streets and tries to make sense or just lose himself. this is the point where the movie begins.its a powerful investigation of the "Venus trap" - the insanity of falling in love out of the blue that made the Greeks create a goddess for it. people that i have spoken with who have seen that movie tend to view their life and their love-life differently afterwards. there is something in it that haunts you.-- slight spoilers for second viewing (nothing lethal) --the movie is an experience to watch. many things, including lights and make-up change dependent on the main character's presence. the best example is his wife. you can spend the entire film thinking she's some vulgar cow, until the scenes where she's without him. the opposite example of course is the symmetry that happens whenever you put the intended lovers in the same shot. these motives would have been considered simple gimmicks in a Hollywood film, but here they work subconsciously into bringing you into the Venus trap.