![]() These details are fascinating, and von Boehm could have told Newton’s personal story in more depth. But he left Germany, ending up in Singapore, before being sent to Australia, where he met his wife, June. ![]() (She later died in the concentration camps). As a teenager, he apprenticed for Yva, the first fashion photographer. It shows how Newton was 13 when Hitler came to power. If Newton is not entirely likeable as an artist, despite the parade of effusive interviewees, the film’s second act, which addresses his family and childhood, makes him more sympathetic. Self-portrait, Monte Carlo, 1993 Photo courtesy Helmut Newton Foundation However, while provocation is fine, when Newton is seen on a shoot telling a female model to spread her hand wide on the crotch of the male she is embracing - and hoping the guy will get aroused - it may be going too far. Newton explains that, “It takes great pains to get a good photo.” He is not wrong. Another shot he took featuring a woman wearing a fancy Bulgari ring and bracelet and the cavity of chicken wasn’t appreciated by the jeweler. One photo spread he did for “Vogue” was considered an insult to disabled women. The photo irked folks who wanted a more polished image. The German actress Hanna Schygulla talks about how Newton appreciated a pose where she displayed her underarm hair. Von Boehm lets many of Newton’s images, which address power dynamics, speak for themselves. Arena, Miami, 1978 Photo courtesy Helmut Newton Foundation.David Lynch and Isabelle Rossellini, Los Angeles, 1988 Photo courtesy Helmut Newton Foundation.Rue Aubriot, Paris, 1975 Photo courtesy Helmut Newton Foundation.Crocodile, Wuppertal, 1983 Photo courtesy Helmut Newton Foundation.It’s a fair point, echoed by Claudia Schiffer who comments about the different “characters” she got to play for Newton’s lens including a typical German girl and a more sexually provocative female. She states that the vision he has is not his life, adding the importance of separating the art from the artist. Actress Charlotte Rampling, who modeled nude for Newton, defends the photographer. Instead, von Boehm goes in the other direction, with interviews that champion him and his work. “Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful” could have used more humbling moments like this. When Helmut says he “loves women,” Sontag retorts, “A lot of misogynist men say that, but I don’t think it’s the truth.” She also claims his comment is not unlike “a master saying he loves his slave.” Thankfully, bisexual writer Susan Sontag cuts Newton down to size on a French TV talk show. The question is raised: are they being exploited? Photos of a woman naked on all fours, or another with a saddle on her back, or a nude woman lying in the mouth of an alligator make this case. Isabella Rossellini explains that women in Newton’s work are portrayed as sexual objects. One model, posed like a Barbie doll in a photo, suggests Newton is commenting on society being sexist. ![]() The debate over the photographer’s work is very stimulating and a highlight of the doc. Jones claims she was “acting,” but viewers may have more woke thoughts. A shot Newton made for a magazine cover, featuring Jones naked and chained at the ankle, caused a scandal it was deemed sexist and racist. But Jones is also subject of one of the controversies in the photographer’s career. Jones is infectious in her interviews, even when she laughingly recounts a story that Newton thought her breasts were too small. She also admits, “He’s a little perverse…but so am I!” Queer icon Grace Jones describes how he lit a shot of her, naked and holding a knife, with strategically placed shadows, and commends Newton for being erotic, not vulgar. Grace Jones and Dolph Lundgren, Los Angeles, 1985, Photo courtesy Helmut Newton Foundation
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