In a bare film studio, a director is standing ready with his crew for an interview with a prostitute. Shot in classic black & white, the documentary maker in Black & White & Sex interviews her at length, with various cameras and a barrage of questions. Eight different actresses portray one and the same woman: Angie, the eloquent prostitute.
While the ladies are very different in their appearance, age and clothing, they are the same person with the same text. Yet each new woman heralds a new phase in the conversation between Angie and her interviewer – who has to bare all, literally and metaphorically.
This film-within-a-film makes one suspect a classic Hollywood casting couch, but turns out primarily to be a confrontational, erotic and intellectual cinematographic striptease – partially inspired by Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests. A joy to watch thanks to the stylish camera work, the clever cutting, the well-thought-out dialogue and powerful actresses. –Rotterdam
Also: Bordwell on John le Carré, Denby on the great actors of the silent era, profiles of Bardot, Sophia Loren, and more.
