Das Zimmermädchen Lynn (2014) Reviews

• Out of the light and into darkness: dichotomy

  gradyharp2015-08-29

  Some little films come along that challenge the status quo of current cinema menus. Such is the case with this little film that dares go places others fear – and it is to the credit of Film Movement to keep these before our eyes. Without the use of apocalyptic subject matter or robots or building explosions or cars crashes or potty mouth dialogue or the repetitious Marvel Comics backlog of reruns, THE CHAMBERMAID is simply a study of one young girls mind – the past effects of abuse and mental illness, and the need to be loved or at least truly desired. The unlikely pairing of an obsessive-compulsive chambermaid and an androgynous dominatrix proves oddly liberating for the eponymous heroine of this film. 'The beauty of cleaning is that everything gets dirty again' is the motto of Lynn (Vicky Krieps), someone who needs to cling to what she knows in order to at least feel safe, though routines, places and objects initially seem preferable to people. In time Lynn is seen handling guests' objects and then secretly begins to spy on them in their rooms, it slowly becomes clear that she's starting to find other people fascinating, if perhaps a bit startling. In her obsessive-compulsive role as a chambermaid she crawls under a bed to vacuum the bottom of a mattress, or uses a dentist's angled mirror to check that she's scrubbed all the dirt from the underside of a toilet rim. She rarely interacts with others, yet is endlessly curious about how others live, inspecting their habits with the kind of baffled interest generally reserved for other species. She tries on their clothes (men's as well as women's), examines the pictures in their wallets and reads the inscriptions on their rings. She even hides beneath their beds to observe them unseen. Along comes a guest (Christian Aumer) with a bottle-blond dominatrix, Chiara (Lena Lauzemis), experienced almost entirely through the use of sound and the brilliant face of Lynn, who's hiding under the bed and can only image what must be going on. Through Chiara, it dawns on Lynn that pain doesn't necessarily need to be negative and that intimacy can happen in a context that's a lot more controlled than in real life (read: paid for). This sets into motion the film's last act, which may be predictable emotionally: the encounter has less to do with S&M than with a slow, careful initiation into intimacy, Chiara seeming to know just how to gently nudge her client into accepting, then welcoming, her touch; their sex-for-hire transactions morph into something deeper, their lovemaking achieving a unique blend of force and tenderness. Lynn learns to interact directly with another human being while Chiara discovers a genuine liking for her pupil. Chiara is amused by Lynn's strictly regimented routine, just as Lynn is bemused by the lack of structure in Chiara's freelance lifestyle. New subject matter realized in a very sensitive way, this film will fascinate those fatigued by movies that rely solely on special effects as opposed to human stories. Masterfully directed by Ingo Haeb.

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• Rather Bizarre & Fetishistic German Film

  larrys32015-09-17

  This is a difficult film to describe, no less rate. I'll note up front for those viewers that have concerns on these matters, there's plenty of nudity here, as well as a number of explicit sex scenes, some of which involve S&M and voyeurism. Vicky Krieps gives a solid performance here, as Lynn, a strange and depressive young woman working as a chambermaid at a local hotel. She's been in a mental health facility in the past, remains in therapy, and clearly has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Aside from having sex with her boss (Steffen Munster) at the hotel, her real thrills come from hiding under the beds of some guests and spying on their activities. One day, she overhears a conversation, in the hotel lobby, between a call girl and a man who are about to rent a room, and finds out the room number. She races upstairs ahead of them and hides under the bed. The call girl, Chiara, ably portrayed by Lena Lauzemis, turns out to specialize as a dominatrix, and Lynn is turned on by the session, and copies down Chiara's phone number. Lynn ends up calling her and scheduling a house call with Chiara and sets up a meeting. What will develop between the two though will be a bonding and eventually even a friendship (OK-so it's not on the scale of "Pretty Woman"). However, we will see Lynn slowly coming out of her "shell" to some extent, even trying to get closer to her emotionally distant mother. This movie, written and directed by Ingo Haeb, is definitely geared to a thin slice of filmgoers. If you are not turned off by the graphic sexual and fetishistic elements, you may find some of the other elements here of creepiness, eroticism, and even some dark humor to be to your liking, but be prepared for a very strange ride.

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• Intriguing German film of BDSM and the lure of voyeurism

  t-dooley-69-3869162016-10-18

  Lynn has 'issues' she is being treated for her condition and has a job as a maid at a nice hotel. She is a very hard worker and is obsessive compulsive. Cleaning is her ideal job and she excels at it. She hos has desires, which leads her to doing things that she may not have done with enough time to think. She also is a voyeur; in that she hides in the guests' rooms to observe what they get up to, and I do not mean which channels they want to watch on the television either. Then one day she experiences an encounter between a dominatrix and her client and she is inexorably drawn to the exotic and alluring creature – and so begins her journey. Now this is a film that will appeal to as many as it repels in that it is about sexual unorthodoxy but is not a sex film per se. It is a very good and even intimate exploration of lust and desire and the fetishistic side of human nature. It is well made and acted and has those moments where very little appears to be happening but that helps juxtapose the mundanity of the ordinary as it segues into the extraordinary in other peoples ordinariness. In German with good sub titles this is for you if you enjoy films that area bit left field and as such recommended.

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• Captivating performance

  IndustriousAngel2016-09-27

  It's a very small, intimate story - the "heroine" is Lynn, a grey mouse of a girl, mentally slightly challenged and shy as we learn very soon but competent in her job as chambermaid (possibly a bit helped by her compulsory cleaning habit), gets her kicks in an otherwise boring life (even sleeping with the manager seems more like a chore, for both of them) from spying on the hotel guests, trying on their clothes and even hiding under their beds. That way she learns about Chiara, a tough boyish call-girl whose services she enlists in the following weeks. And as she starts falling in love with this incongruous partner (hopeless, of course), her life starts to open up a bit, too. The movie ends on an unfirm note - Lynn's self-destructive traits are still there (she even had to steal from customers to afford Chiara's services) but she seems like a much more confident character by now, ready to face the future even without Chiara. That's not much of a story, and the only thing keeping this from being a bore is Vicky Krieps' performance as Lynn - but that has to be witnessed. Her play is so immediate and natural I actually felt like spying on someone's real life in many scenes - creepy feeling, indeed! The sets are outstanding, too - nothing fancy but everything composed with a severe neatness that nicely complements the story. It's not a perfect film - many scenes are too long, some even a waste, especially the character setup at the start goes on for quite a bit longer than necessary - but with 10 of those minutes cut this would get even a 9/10 from me!

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• Blew my mind!

  sabineholthaus2019-01-31

  What an incredible and surprising movie. Because one never catches Lynn acting one feels more and more like a voyeur in her life. A very bitter/sweet tale never getting sugary. Lynn, played by Vicky Krieps, gives one at times the creeps as well, for what a lonely life to live. Outstanding as Domina, Lena Lauzemis. She plays a Domina as of she has done it all her life. A movie one doesn't forget.

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