Desire is Death: The Death Drive and Repetition in Liliana Cavani’s Il Portiere Di Notte

Abstract

In 1974, Italian film-maker Liliana Cavani created an extraordinary film. Il Portiere Di Notte (The Night Porter) tells the story of Max and Lucia, a Nazi SS officer and his Jewish prisoner who begin a sado-masochistic affair which outlasts both the war and the concentration camp where it began. The film provoked outrage upon its initial release, with many seeing Max and Lucia’s unorthodox love story as little more than an excuse to screen politically incorrect and historically insensitive pornography. However, while Cavani’s film is certainly provocative and challenging, it is unquestionably much more than a simple work of cheap Nazi exploitation; the complex and often transgressive relationship of its protagonists gives rise to many questions regarding the nature of society and death, and it is only by viewing the film from a psychoanalytic standpoint that the true depth of Max and Lucia’s dark relationship can be understood. This article will explore the relationship central to The Night Porter from both a Lacanian and Freudian perspective, taking key theoretical concepts from both psychoanalysts into consideration while attempting to better understand the exact nature of Max and Lucia’s compulsively destructive relationship.