Virgin Machine

{{infobox film

| image = Virgin Machine.jpg

| alt =

| director = Monika Treut

| producer = Monika Treut

| screenplay = Monika Treut

| starring = Ina Blum
Shelly Mars
Dominique Gaspar
Susie Bright

| cinematography = Elfi Mikesch

| editing = Renate Merck

| studio = Hyena Films
NDR

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|1989|02|10|df=yes}}

| country = West Germany

| language = German
English

}}

Virgin Machine (German: Die Jungfrauenmaschine) is a 1988 drama film, directed by Monica Treut. It is a co-production of Hyena Films with NDR.

Plot synopsis

Dorothee Müller is a young journalist from Hamburg. She is eager for love, but frustrated by her relationships with men such as Heinz and Bruno, and sets out to unlock the secret to romantic love professionally, as a journalist, interviewing people from different professions. Failing to find the answers she seeks, she flies off to San Francisco. There, she meets several extraordinary women, and continues her quest to figure out love by interviewing them: Ramona, the drag king; Dominique, a Hungarian bohemian type; and Susie Sexpert, who owns a collection of incredible dildos. Dorothee's exploration leads her on a journey of self-exploration and adventure, and to new discoveries about her own sexuality.{{cite book |last1=Flinn |first1=Caryl |title=The New German Cinema: Music, History, and the Matter of Style |url=https://archive.org/details/The_New_German_Cinema_Music_History_And_The_Matter_Of_Style_Caryl_Flinn |date=2004 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley|isbn=9780520228955 }}

Cast

Ina Blum – Dorothee Mueller
Gad Klein – Heinz
Marcelo Uriona – Bruno
Shelly Mars – Ramona
Dominique Gaspar – Dominique
Susie Bright – Susie Sexpert

Style

The film is shot in black and white, with punk styling and feminist aesthetic.{{cite web |title=Die Jungfrauenmaschine (Filmkritik) {{!}} UNCUT-Movies |url=https://www.uncut.at/movies/kritik.php?movie_id=11564 |website=www.uncut.at |access-date=31 May 2019}} The episodic presentation style chosen by Treut and the anarchistic spirit of the film have brought on comparisons to classics ranging from Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless to Lina Wertmueller to Susan Seidelman.{{cite web |title=Virgin Machine . Hyena Films |url=https://www.hyenafilms.com/en/films/virgin-machine/ |website=www.hyenafilms.com |access-date=31 May 2019}}

Release

The film was originally released in 1988, when it screened in international festivals and was nominated for a Teddy Award. The film became something of a feminist underground classic, and has now been digitally remastered, and has been screened anew in such international venues as the 2017 Berlinale and 2019 TLVfest.{{cite web |title=Virgin Machine |url=http://tlvfest.com/tlv/he/2017/04/19/virgin-machine/ |website=TLVFest |access-date=31 May 2019}}

Reception

In her review for The New York Times, Caryn James writes that Virgin Machine is "a blunt tribute to the not-revolutionary idea that lesbians can be lusty romantic fools just like anybody else." She gives mixed reviews to the style and content, concluding that the film is "more artsy than artistic, but at least Miss Treut is aiming for something stylish."{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/10/movies/review-film-lesbian-california-dreaming.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219235449/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/10/movies/review-film-lesbian-california-dreaming.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-12-19|title=Review/Film - Lesbian California Dreaming - NYTimes.com|website=The New York Times |date=2017-12-19|access-date=2019-06-02}} In the Uncut film review of the 2017 Berlinale screening, the film is described as surprisingly sugary in light of its name and punk stylings. The review commends the renewed access to the film for a new generation of feminists, and says that Treut's treatment of sexuality in Virgin Machine is "open, cheerful and with a lot of fun; the women in the film go through life and are not only an inspiration for Dorothee Müller, but for all modern women."

Awards

1988: Torino Giovani Film Festival, Best Film{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
1988: Torino Giovani Film Festival, Best Actress{{cite web |title=Special Award to Monika Treut at the 24 Torino GLBT Film Festival |url=https://lesbian-lips.com/special-award-to-monika-treut-at-the-24-torino-glbt-film-festival/news/2961/ |website=lesbian-lips.com |access-date=31 May 2019 |language=es-ES}}
1988: Berlinale, Teddy Award (nomination)

Festivals

Toronto International Film Festival
Berlinale 1988, 2017{{Cite web|url=https://www.berlinale.de/de/archiv/jahresarchive/2017/02_programm_2017/02_filmdatenblatt_2017_201703178.html#tab=filmStills|title=Die Jungfrauenmaschine {{!}} Virgin Machine|website=www.berlinale.de|language=de|access-date=2020-03-05}}
London Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, 1998{{Cite book|last=Wilton|first=Tamsin|title=Immortal, Invisible: Lesbians and the Moving Image|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|pages=15}}
Créteil International Women's Film Festival{{Cite web|url=https://www.hyenafilms.com/en/films/virgin-machine/|title=Virgin Machine . Hyena Films|website=www.hyenafilms.com|access-date=2020-03-05}}
Chéries-Chéris (Festival of Gays and Lesbians of Paris)
Turin Film Festival
Gothenburg Film Festival
SQIFF{{Cite web|url=http://www.sqiff.org/event/queer-women-in-love-virgin-machine/|title=SQIFFQueer Women in Love: Virgin Machine (Glasgow)|website=www.sqiff.org|access-date=2020-03-05}}
TLVFest 2019{{Cite web|url=http://tlvfest.com/tlv/he/2017/04/19/virgin-machine/|title=Virgin Machine {{!}} TLVFest|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-05}}
Dublin International Film Festival, 2020{{Cite web|url=https://www.diff.ie/|title=DIFF Festival Limited|website=DIFF Festival Limited|language=en|access-date=2020-03-05}}