Film made in 1974 directed by
Liliana Cavani, and starring
Dirk Bogarde, and
Charlotte Rampling, about the behavior of
Nazi war criminals in 50s Austria, attempting to destroy any evidence that might implicate them with the crimes they committed at the
concentration camps. The protagonist, a former
SS officer named Max is pretty much in hiding, working as the night
porter at a hotel in Vienna. At the start of the film, he is meeting with his peers from the war, who hold mock trials to track down evidence and witnesses to their actions, and to decide if their is anything that might incriminate them. Max is to be the next one to go on
trial, however these proceedings are interrupted for him by the arrival at the hotel of Lucia, a survivor of the camp, with whom Max had been
romantically involved with. They resume their relationship, with Lucia staying behind while her husband travels on to Germany. When the other criminals hear of this, they wish to deal with Lucia as they have done with the other witnesses. Their plan is to deal with anything linking them with the past so that they can move back into society (presumably to pursue their ideologies in a more public arena), whereas Max wishes to continue to live "
like a church mouse," and be left alone with his
rediscovered love. You can tell that
this isn't going to end happily.
"The Night Porter" has often been criticized as being Nazi exploitation, and while there are some elements of this (Charlotte Rampling dancing topless in a peaked cap in one of Max's flashbacks), this is for the most part unfair. The film gives a very insightful view of why the holocaust revisionists and neo-Nazis behave the way they do, and the feelings that bind people together in situations like this. The performances are all excellent too.
Also known as: Il Portiere di notte