A taut thriller that is just as relevant today as when it was produced, more than thirty five years ago. A young woman spends a night with a suspected terrorist and becomes the object of a police investigation and an intense slur campaign waged by a smarmy, unscrupulous news hound and his photographer. The very
beautiful Angela Winkler plays the title character and exudes a very convincing aura of naivete and bewilderment during the interrogations. We are never sure just how much she really knows, or whether she is, as she maintains, an innocent caught up in the intrigue of others. But the thrust of the movie is the way that she is portrayed in the media of the day. One could not watch without recognizing how difficult it is to recover ones good name when all of your dirty laundry (and some that was made up out of whole cloth) has been aired. Just ask Casey Anthony. The ending, while shocking, seems almost justifiable given the events as they unfolded. Jurgen Prochnow plays the terrorist, Ludwig, quietly and darkly menacing. Mario Adorf plays the lead investigator who seems a little too cozy with the reporter, played by Dieter Laser.
July 27, 2011
