Das Mal des Todes (1985) : distribution, intrigue et streaming

Released in 1985, Das Mal des Todes is a drame film directed by Peter Handke, running about 65 minutes.

What it’s about. In the space of a short 65 minutes, a woman enters the luxury apartment of a wealthy man with an eccentric fascination for the female form and is paid both for her sexual favors and for lying there naked and letting him examine the aesthetics of her body. For most of the hour, as the concise narration of Marguerite Duras' novel on eroticism and aesthetics fills the aural gaps, actress Marie Colbin's form fills the visual gaps. But unless viewers consider the feminine eyeball or microscopic views of skin exotic and worth lingering over, the eroticism lies more in the imagination than on the screen. In fact, the female body lying on the bed, taken away from the spirit that animates it, is really just a corpse -- raising the question, exactly what is the "malady of death?"

Who’s in it. Das Mal des Todes stars Marie Colbin as the anonymous woman and Peter Handke as the narrator.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Das Mal des Todes page.

If you liked it. Fans of Das Mal des Todes tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, La Liste de Schindler and The Godfather Part II.