Mata Hari

Director: Curtis Harrington

1985 / 108min / 35mm

The final feature from cult director Harrington (Night Tide, What’s the Matter with Helen?), is an erotic period piece melodrama that occasionally managed epic effects on bargain prices by shooting in Budapest, and provided Kristel a custom-fit role as the infamous, Dutch-born World War I-era seductress-spy-cabaret dancer of the title—in Harrington’s treatment, not the vicious double agent vamp of lore, but a pawn manipulated by the French and German intelligence services. Those who fret over quibbles like “historical accuracy” or “plausibility” may have a bone to pick, but those who enjoy basking in the pleasures of beautifully bespoke softcore will find much to luxuriate in.