Straight Through the Heart

Released in Germany in 1983 as Mitten Ins Herz, Straight Through the Heart was director Doris Dorrie’s first feature. Beate Jensen portrays Anna, an odd, quirky young girl. She begins a romance with the much older dentist Dr. Armin Thal (Josef Bierbichler). Both lovers are neurotic, and both seem to thrive on feeding off each other’s neuroses. Director Dorrie, who’d first gained critical acceptance with her 1978 short film The First Waltz, furthered her reputation with the highly original and perceptive Straight Through the Heart, but wouldn’t achieve international recognition until her second feature, Men… (1985).