Madame X: An Absolute Ruler

Gold.

Love. Adventure. Tabea Blumenschein stars as the leather-clad lesbian pirate Madame X, who promises a new way of life to the brave women who dare to join her crew.

The most successful and cruellest pirate on the Far Eastern Seas, Madame X (Tabea Blumenschein) rules her junk Orlando with a gloved iron fist, from which extends a long spike, having lost her real hand to a deadly jellyfish years ago while attempting to save her lover (played by Ulrike Ottinger herself in flashback). Now in desire of “total domination”, she sends out a signal to women across the globe – including an Australian bush pilot with a wildly shorn haircut and Yvonne Rainer in a green visor and rollerskates – inviting them to join her for a life of excitement. Journeying from all corners, they leave their ordinary lives behind in search of something new; but no-one expects the tyranny that awaits.

Shot on 16mm, Ottinger’s first scripted feature is a swashbuckling sadomasochistic reverie that caused much controversy for its brightly coloured, often humorous, depictions of queer violence. With its fetishistic costuming designed by Blumenschein (the director’s romantic partner and collaborator at the time) and wild aesthetic, Madame X was a call to arms for a new avant-garde; yet it still pays homage to its queer predecessors, with references to Virginia Woolf and a Sapphic take on the Shangri-Las’ 1964 pop hit ‘Leader of the Pack’.

Content: Melbourne International Film Festival