Härte

Rosa von Praunheim’s adaptation of Andreas Marquardt’s autobiography is a haunting work. Hanno Koffler impressively embodies the former pimp Marquardt, whose life was marked by violence from childhood on. Physically abused by his father and sexually abused by his mother, he continued this spiral as a pimp in Berlin until he was finally convicted and underwent therapy in prison. With the help of his therapist Jürgen Lemke, he was able to process his experiences and publish them autobiographically in a book. The relationship with Marquardt’s current partner Marion Erdmann also plays a central role.

Alternating between passages from interviews with Marquardt and Erdmann and re-enacted flashbacks, Rosa von Praunheim manages to paint an unembellished yet fascinating picture of Andreas Marquardt’s lifestyle from an unfeeling pimp to a self-reflective person.

The scenes, shot in black and white, in which Hanno Koffler and Luise Heyer (as Marion Erdmann) act together in impressive acting, are so fascinating that one can hardly turn away. The film attracted a lot of attention and managed to put sexualised violence against children, especially against boys by their mothers, into a larger public light.