Audience Member
What a crime that a film as profoundly moving as "Begging Naked" has not found proper distribution. I had the great fortune of seeing the film at Roger Ebert's 11th annual film festival in Champaign, Illinois, and i'd argue that it was one of the best films shown over the weekend. It's an unflinching and gritty look at worlds most of us will never be subjected to. But it never criticizes it's hero, nor does it exploit her. She is, in fact, the hero of the film - a woman of tremendous courage, heart, and talent.
The woman in question is Elise Hill, who is now in her 40's and living in Central Park. In her teens, she fled home after her father threatened to kill her. She head for New York City where she eventually met a pimp, Maurice, and became a prostitute. Elise claims that Maurice was a good enough man, and offered more help than misfortune. He taught her how to survive on the streets of New York, meanwhile leaving only a few scars on her body and at times having sex with her long after she wanted him to stop because the pain. While working as a prostitute, she became addicted to heroin so terribly that all of her teeth were about ready to fall out.
Those are only the beginnings of Elise's troubles - throughout the film she continues to reveal the intimate details about the highs and lows of the past few decades in her life. She met the filmmaker, Karen Gehres, at an art shop, and when Karen, a painter and aspiring filmmaker, got access to film equipment from her film and video classes, Elise volunteered for the project. his is essential to the film. Although Elise reveals some very shocking material, we know she's talking to her friend. We know she wanted to do this. The line between subject and filmmaker is not the distance it is in inferior films. We know that Karen, behind the camera, loves Elise deeply.
Elise's paintings, many of which she painted on stage at a strip club, are often very erotic. Consider one, for instance, in which she illustrates the nights when men were encouraged to insert dollar bills in the rectums of the strippers. At the film festival, Karen had brought a few of Elise's artworks to sell (much less vulgar than the Show World paintings illustrated in the film), and they were all sold out by the time the next movie had started. As this continues, hopefully Elise will have the proper funds and determination to get off the sidewalks.
The film is composed beautifully and the audience is never preached to. The musical interludes are appropriate if only to "take in" all of what we're hearing. There's a tragically beautiful scene when, while recalling returning to stripping, we see Elise riding on a carousel, straddling the gold pole of her horse with a huge smile. And most heartbreaking of all, we see the moment when Elise is evicted.
"Begging Naked" is an extraordinarily intimate look at a fascinating woman whom you really come to care for and love. Hopefully Karen soon finds the distribution she so rightfully deserves, but until then you can visit BeggingNaked.com to read more about the film and purchase a DVD.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/14/23
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