You'd be excused for thinking the new Czech film Her Body is something other than it is for the first hour. It's expertly shot and acted and appears to unfold as a tale of female empowerment.
Andrea Absolonová is a professional high diver who is Olympics-bound. She's been training since childhood and is in prime physical shape. Her body is maturing (her younger sister Lucie, also a diver, comments that Andrea's breasts are getting bigger) and she's on the cusp of adulthood. So if the years of training (and borderline bulimia) are going to pay off, the time is now. She is adored by fans, doted on by her parents, and standing tall and confident.
A tragic accident abruptly ends Andrea's career as a high diver. She is incapacitated, in a body brace, and still she pushes herself to return. Finally her coach tells her she's been replaced. She'll never attain her former status.
So Andrea starts to slack. She goes out clubbing. And she sleeps with a photographer who has been circling her since she rejected his advances while training. She knows that he has a "real job": he shoots porn movies and is tied in with the burgeoning underground industry (the film is set in the late 1990s-early 2000s). Andrea knows what he does and she wants in.
She throws herself into porn with abandon and is an instant star (now known as Lea De Mae). She trades a sport for celebrity or, as disapproving Lucie puts it, "fucking for cash." Andrea's parents take differing views: as the money rolls in, Mom delights in her daughter's good fortune. Her father tries to instill shame. Andrea is seduced by the wild life as her porn fame grows. She tracks her parents' estrangement and argues with her sister while partying and doing drugs.
The weight of this drama falls on Natalia Germani's able shoulders. She plays Andrea as focused and ambitious. Ms. Germani, a regular presence on Czech TV, is fit and attractive. Her demeanor suggests that what Andrea wants, Andrea will get. The actor's physical beauty and grace are capped by intelligent blue eyes that, while alluring, are steely. She simmers, giving Andrea Absolonová's quest deeper meaning.
Her Body is a solid film. Director Natálie Císarovská has a firm command of the material, giving Ms. Germani a strong showcase. Denisa Baresová as Lucie is a fine foil: young and waiflike, she gets stronger as her sister wanes. Zuzana Mauréry and Martin Finger as Andrea's parents adeptly portray the up-and-downsides of parental faith and ambition. Klara Belicova's cinematography is appropriately lush and tawdry as circumstances change. The sound design of Petr Cechák and Frantisek Sec accentuates Andrea's breathing, baring the effect of events on her metabolism; that sound is often the only thing we hear.
Warning: spoilers ahead.
The problem with Her Body is: it's a true story. The film must adhere to Andrea's biographical details. So it's disappointing that that story becomes so typical.
Porn is a stronger social force than we care to admit. It's as old as human communication. In these times it's toxic and corrupt—what isn't?—but porn's not just about human trafficking, as proven by the draw of non-pros to OnlyFans. In its purest form, porn epitomizes why we watch movies in the first place: to be aroused and to see something we haven't seen before. For the performer, it can be gratifying for its exhibition and endurance: See what my body can do? See how much it can take? For Andrea Absolonová, the experiences of diving and sexual display might have been similar: a pride in possessing a perfect physique and putting it through its paces.
In any case, it must have been more gratifying than a conventional tale of diminishing returns. And sadly, because we have Andrea's life story to work with, and she died young, we'll never know how she felt about it. The climax of her quest, and her life, amounts to an eleventh hour deus ex machina which does not grow organically out of her actions.
Ms. Císarovská's film has the potential to be a unique take on autonomy and the physicality that both sports and porn require. Andrea wants to exceed expectations and remain the center of attention. She goes from Princess to Harlot and manages to retain her dignity. While gorging on food and drink and sex, she secretly smiles. "I'm happy," she maintains. "Finally free."
So it’s too bad that ultimately Her Body’s message is trite and predictable. Andrea Absolonová’s story is interesting but not extraordinary. Director Natálie Císarovská and actor Natalia Germani make compelling drama of it until the facts demand banal morality. It's sometimes better to trust the fiction. It, like Ms. Germani's performance, reveals more when untethered from immutable "truths."
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Her Body. Directed by Natálie Císarovská. 2023. From Film Movement. On digital platforms. 105 minutes.