UN ANGE PASSE

’Un ange passe’ is a vivid observation of the social and sexual economies of prostitution, an indelibly envisioned narrative set in the Veemarkt harbor quarter of Antwerp. Andre tells the story of the prostitute Anita, who displays herself in a "show window" on the square and engages in a self-deceptive love for her abusive pimp. The everyday intimacies of Anita’s world -- dressing and undressing, servicing her johns, exchanging money -- are vividly set against the masculine milieu of the dock workers and sailors. André’s unique visual stylization and framing devices position the woman’s body at the intersection of the harbor’s financial, social and sexual economies. The disjunctive narrative and sordid social context call to mind Godard and Fassbinder, but André speaks through her heroine with a distinctly female, and ultimately feminist, voice.