Parts of Town Without Pity are really good, but there are two elements that nearly ruin the film: the ridiculous Oscar-nominated title song and subsequent repetitive theme, and the frequent, superfluous narration by Barbara Rutting. She plays a reporter in the film, so I can only imagine the screenwriters wanted to make the audience think she was writing an article that turned into the film, but it was extremely distracting. The opening scene shows Christine Kauffman and her boyfriend Gerhart Lippert swimming, talking, and sunbathing. Town Without Pity is a German film, and when the German cast speaks in their native tongue, the cold, unexpressive narration translates what they're saying for the English speakers in the audience. Why didn't they substitute narration for subtitles? Every time Barbara's irritating voice cut in, I was taken out of the extremely dramatic, emotional situation.
As tastefully as it can be shown, while still showing exactly what happened, the film shows four American soldiers rape Christine in the beginning scene. The rest of the film involves the trial and the emotional damages Christine and her family suffer throughout the process. She gives a fantastic performance, and were it not for the narration, my heart would have absolutely broken for her.
Kirk Douglas plays the soldiers' attorney, and he also gives a wonderful performance. He's disgusted by his clients but can't refuse his assignment, and he tries to be as sympathetic to Christine as possible. There's a scene in which Kirk is interviewing Christine, with a physical translator present, and he learns more information about the case. He and Christine only communicate with their eyes because they don't want a record of what they're trying to say, and it's incredibly powerful. The majority of Kirk's performance is dual-focused: he's forced to say one thing, but his heart makes his eyes say something different.
Obviously, because of the heavy subject matter, this movie won't be for everyone. However, since the film was made in 1961, you can rest assured the opening scene isn't graphic. If you like watching very dramatic, non-feel-good movies just to appreciate the acting-I do, too-then you'll want to rent this one. You'll also want to pop in something lighter afterwards, like Pillow Talk.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, since there's a rape scene and some heavy subject matter, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
