Frau Dr. Mabuse, the nefarious head of an international news conglomerate, decides to manufacture a human being who can be manipulated according to the media empire’s whims. Dorian Gray is created—young, wealthy, and handsome—then led astray, resulting in scandalous, sensational headlines that sell.

Rejecting sanctimonious satire, Ulrike Ottinger’s bold critique of the tabloid press allows for the surface pleasures of notoriety and celebrity. Starring an immaculate, never-more-devious Delphine Seyrig, this prescient film is magnetized with push-pull fascination for sparkly yet throwaway fun.