Madame X: An Absolute Ruler
Women's Work: Essential Films by Female Filmmakers
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2h 16m
Directed by Ulrike Ottinger | 131 mins | 1977
The hard, merciless pirate ruler of the China Sea, Madame X sends out a missive to women, inviting them to leave domestic security behind for a life of dangerous adventure, but when a panoply of different women—including Yvonne Rainer on rollerskates—arrive to serve as her shipmates, they find themselves slaves to a new tyrannical power. In her first feature, Ottinger is already inimitable, making use of extravagant costumes courtesy Tabea Blumenschein and a languid style that’s all her own.
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