User Reviews

I was drawn to this film because I'm currently trying to examine the medium of film to piece together the remnants of German society after WWII. I was also further drawn to this film, when I read that it dealt with an abortionist - a taboo suject for our time. But, nonetheless intriguing to see depicted.

On the latter point; the abortions depicted in this film were incredbly unsettling to watch. That to me is besides the point, what I gathered more ouf of this film was the milieu the characters inhabited: Roswitha, a mother of 3; with a husband (Franz) who she supports financially, was reliant on this illegal abortion operation to make ends meet. Unfortunately, this "abortion show" is cut short eventually as malpractice leads to the authorities being notified of Roswitha's actions, and thus she ceases being an abortionist, but that then puts her family in financial troubles. Requiring Franz to find a job and her to find something new to focus her time towards; which she finds by getting involved in political activism (a way to find purpose in life you could say).

Looking at all of this from a bird's eye view you can see how "society" pushes the individual; the family; everyone around, in such a way that we are all left trying to make something of ourselves (however small or big); or find some meaning out of it all. Interesting to ponder all of this. That's all.

This movie was intense and funny in its analysis of a restless gifted person. She was an abortionist. The very bizarre close examination of the work she did includes a jaw dropping opening that makes it appear that the film was shot during the events as they actually happened. She is keeping her family together but then loses interest and becomes a rabble rouser for workers in a chemistry plant. She helps them keep their jobs when the threat of moving the plant to Portugal comes to light, but of course, gets her husband fired when they identify her as the agitator.

In the end she opens a stand at the plant selling sausages wrapped in union pamphlets... Very funny, even the abortion clinic segment where she converts it into a veterinary clinic after she coaxes a dog to break through the police tape for her. Great basic film-making!

"Gelegenheitsarbeit einer Sklavin" or "Part-Time Work of a Domestic Slave" or "Occasional Work of a Female Slave" is a West German German-language film from 1973, so this one will have its 45th anniversary next year. The writer and director here is Alexander Kluge and he was probably among the most influential filmmakers during his peak here in Germany. Oh he is still alive by the way. And so is Alexandra Kluge, the lead actress in here and of course the filmmaker's sister. Both are in their 80s now. It is a black-and-white film and as always with Kluge, the focus here is on German society while the protagonist's personal story feels not as much in the center of it all. This is a common approach for Alexander Kluge's films and I personally struggle more than just a bit with it. The problem is not that his films look like documentaries most of the time, but that I somehow don't really see a justification that a character like that would get his own movie really because it is all so bland, so bleak, so everyday life and nothing stands out really. Roswitha Bronski is a bit of an exception here admittedly as her life is a bit of a whirlwind, as much as it gets for a Kluge film I guess. But I am still not sold here either. Something is simply missing in these 87 minutes and I find it pretty difficult to exactly say what it is to be honest. Perhaps it has to do with Alexandra's performance that isn't bad actually, but only looks somewhat decent at times because most of the supporting cast here are really weak and you see that they do not have a great experience at all. Maybe this also has to do with the fact that Alexandra ended her acting career after this film in her mid-30s already because it seems that she only started it in the first place as a favor to her brother, so she could star in his films.

Now about the film, Kluge's work generally does not have the appeal for the masses like maybe Fassbinder, Wenders, Herzog and the works of others do, but he just has his own niche and I am sure there are enough people who still enjoy these works. If you have seen other films by Kluge that you enjoyed, then I am sure this one here is also not the worst choice to check out as I find in terms of tone and style his movie generally look pretty similar. I myself think I belong to the masses though who find it difficult to find access to Kluge's works, let alone make a connection with them. That's why I give this one here a thumbs-down too. Not recommended.