Movie: The Devil Is a Woman (Josef von Sternberg, 1935)
I didn't realise that this is an adaptation of the same novel, aptly titled The Woman and the Puppet, as That Obscure Object of Desire. Bunuel's film is mainly about the puppet, a rich man too celf-centred to realise that money can't buy love, or even that his romantic interest changes appearance throughout - Conchita is played by two different actresses, Angela Molina and Carole Bouquet, a great example of how the film skews its world by adding surrealist touches to an otherwise mostly recognisable society. Its stylistic pleasures can't be matched by The Devil Is A Woman, but von Sternberg's film, mainly about the woman, is more mysterious and sinister. The wonderful playfullness and strangeness of That Obscure Object of Desire backs a common satiric commentary on the delusions of the rich and powerful. The more conventional approach of The Devil Is A Woman builds to a punchiline that plays like a nihilistic private joke between von Sternberg and Dietrich.
The film begins at Carnaval in Seville, where a masked Antonio Galvan (Cesar Romero) spots Conchita (Marlene Dietrich) through the crowd. She invites him to look for her, without letting herself be found, prompting a pursuit through the partying city, until she passes him a note through an interloper to meet her the next day in the forest for a carriage ride. Smitten, Antonio fails to realise that the carnival decorations masking Seville's streets and residents might be an ominous symbol of false, slippery identities, but he gets a clearer warning bumping into his old friend Don Pasqual (Lionel Atwill). In a long flashback he tells of his own misbeggoten history with Conchita and how she consistently manipulated him, taking his money and his heart. Dietrich gives a great, funny performance, playing an unconvincing pretender. The obvious insincerity of her assurances, throughout the years, that she truly loves Don Pasqual is entirely disconnected from his own account, presenting Conchita as a conniving hustler when he should see right through her. Von Sternberg gives him no sympathy. The later revelation that he tried to warn away his friend because he is still in love with Conchita, doesn't negate that he was, and still is, a willfull sucker being misled by Conchita, Antonio, and his own illusions. It does however lead to a duel between the two men, which mostly sets up a perfect opportunity for Conchita to use her manipulating powers to their full effect.
It's no surprise this was Marlene Dietrich's favorite movie of hers. Few films have ever been so flattering of an actress. The Devil Is a Woman essentially posits that Dietrich's mere presence is enough to make any man do what she wants him to, and lets her revel in that ability, especially during the startling final scenes showing her conning men and causing heartbreak simply for love of the game. The finale begins with a carriage seen in long shot driving Dietrich and her victim towards the camera, followed by a number of scenes showing the actions taken to complete this voyage. It ends with the same movements happening in the opposite direction, with the final shot being of the same carriage on the same spot moving away from the camera, emphasising that this journey orchestrated by Conchita took effort and time. Beyond inflicting pain and personal complications on her mark(s), she gets no material gain out of it.
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