Pandora’s Box, A Review

Pandora’s Box, a 1929 German silent language film, directed by G.W.Pabst and which stars the internationally-renowned Louise Brooks who stars as Lulu. Ahead of its time in its depiction of lesbianism, sexual-positivity, the film casts Louise as a strong female protagonist who drives much of the plot. Based on an earlier play by Frank Wedekind, this film is reportedly darker and edgier than its play counterpart. The film was so boundary-pushing that it was censored and re-edited in several countries both to have a happier ending, to eliminate depictions of lesbianism and to reduce instances of sexuality shown in the film. Beginning with the ongoing love affair between the austere and traditional Professor Schon and Lulu, the film follows a series of happenstances and misfortunes involving Professor Schon’s son Alwa, Lulu’s occasional lesbian interest Augusta Geschwitz, her “first patron” Schigolch and more. Lulu is a beautiful girl who both envies the attention of the men she cannot entice and captivates men and women alike all while placing herself in increasingly dangerous situations and creating unfortunate situations which eventually lead to her own undoing. Still, even as she is very much an actor and not just an acted-upon, seeing her live the consequences of her actions is nevertheless tragic and heart wrenching, right up until the end. Much like the self-determined, open and often chaotic life she lived in real life, Louise Brooks played a role that suited her, going on to also do another film with Pabst, “Diary of a Lost Girl.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Furc-LygU