How Czech Olympian Andrea Absolonová became an adult film star.
By Sarah G. Vincent
Spanning 1996 through 2004, “Her Body” (2023) is a biopic with an independent film sensibility about a real-life Czech high diver. When a neck injury destroys an aspiring Olympian’s hopes of becoming the best diver in the world, Andrea Absolonová (Natalia Germani) must figure out what she will do with her life. Not content to live an ordinary life, she decides to become a porn star with the stage name Lea De Mae, which Mae West inspired. She achieves her dreams and enjoys doing it, but will she make it to the U.S. and be the best?
With all the handwringing surrounding Josh Pieters’ YouTube documentary about Only Fans content creator Lily Phillips, “I Slept With 100 Men in One Day” (2024), particularly when it ends with Phillips’ tearful reaction after the marathon, it is refreshing to get a movie that strays from the usual drama beats that films about porn stars follow. From “Lovelace” (2013) to “Red Rocket” (2021), they are moralistic stories of exploitation with a foregone conclusion of the porn actor’s life ending in ruin because of drugs or abuse, usually with repentance and regret nipping at its heels. In her narrative feature debut, director Natálie Císarovská finds a way to subvert the genre without pulling any punches about the societal cost and industry hazards.
Císarovská divides “Her Body” into four parts: aspiring Olympian, identity crisis stemming from incapacitation, triumphant comeback as a porn star, and the similarities and differences between the two jobs as the shine begins to dull. If you are worried about how graphic it could be, there is more nudity and sexual situations in “Anora,” the frontrunner to win Best Picture. It is also important not to forget the implication of the title. In both jobs, as a diver and an adult film actor, Absolonová is only as good as her body is functional, and people often conflate her body with the person who exists within it instead of seeing it as a tool. The difference is who benefits from her body: the state, Absolonová, or the people around her.
Císarovská devotes a lot of shots focusing on Germani’s feet and how they move. Diving is a daredevil sport, and the dialogue notes that Absolonová’s diving is the equivalent of jumping from a four-story window. Close-ups of Germani perched on the balls of her feet over the edge of the diving stand convey her skill and determination. As a porn star, her feet wear impossibly high heels hanging and moving with the rhythm of her screen partners’ thrusts. “Her Body” is such an amazing film because regardless of a moviegoer’s personal reservations about porn, it is possible to see why Absolonová would make this decision and feel proud of her choices.
Germani does the quiet work of projecting her inner world on a taciturn, defiant, confident person who also feels fear and isolation without deviating from her chosen course. Absolonová is a driven person who wants an extraordinary life and enjoys the control over others she achieves when she is the best. Císarovská uses a beta fish, Absolonová’s constant animal companion, as a foil to her protagonist. Like her fish, Absolonová is isolated and suspended in water in a fish tank on display for everyone.
Absolonová is a disciplined person. Initially, her sister, Lucie (Denisa Baresová), tries to get her out of this self-restricted prison to have fun like a normal young person: dancing, drinking, and hanging out with guys. Even when Absolonová does not indulge, she endures the fallout of being irresponsible. It is easy to imagine that she is sick of being infantilized, annoyed at receiving contradictory instructions, and living like a monk while accused of living a dissolute life. Absolonová only experiences the negative effects of quotidian life when she becomes normal through injury: boredom, unsatisfying routines, limitations on her income, and future experiences.
Once she works on a film set, it is the first time that Absolonová is shown as part of an affirming community, making money, having fun, eating, drinking, and having friends, i.e., her onscreen partners. It is an act of liberation. Both she and her fish get more expansive, solitary accommodations. There is a great shot from the fish’s perspective of Absolonová wrapped in a blue sheet as if she, too, can finally find rest in water. Her relationship with her body changes. Instead of crouching in a shower, holding herself in pain, she stands upright, and outside, she struts.
Porn becomes a problem when it begins to resemble her earlier life as a diver. Her director/boyfriend, Adam (Cyril Dobrý), is as emotionally withholding and disapproving as her former coach. Disordered eating helps her to advance in both industries, and people begin to not care about how she feels. Her parents argue over her future. Her sister is more openly disapproving. The problematic aspects of the porn industry linger on the edges of her life, slowly encroaching: lustful men who confuse her profession with sexual availability and access, the looming specter of exploitation, and excessive drug and alcohol use. As she begins to wobble in those heels, the latter could be responsible, but there could be another cause. Like when she dives, her flaws are attributed to personal failing, not a sign of something bigger.
“Her Body” does a magnificent job of showing complex characters without demonizing them. As Lucie withdraws, Elena (Tereza Svejdová) becomes another sister figure and offers more unconditional support without the competitive streak or the impulse to change her. As the years pass, Elena, who is also a mother, begins to show less verbal discretion around her daughter and shows physical strain. Matka (Zuzana Mauréry), the mother, presents as a nightmarish stage mom living off the backs of her daughter’s work. However, when things start to fall apart, Matka is still fiercely in Absolonová’s corner and is willing to provide the same support in the lean years as she did in the fat. Absolonová obviously adheres to her mother’s maxim of excellence at any cost, and Matka never adopts her daughter’s accomplishment as hers. During the porn star era, Mauréry shows the strain and doubt on Matka’s face, which she hides to remain steadfast as her daughter’s unconditional cheerleader when she is with Absolonová and others. She is also a woman stuck with a husband, Otec (Martin Finger), who waits to complain and dissent during the bad times.
The wardrobe choices are genius. During the latter part of the movie, Lucie begins to favor a stern, muted look, blazers in drab colors or muted pastels. Even though she wears similar articles of clothing, Marta wears flashier jewelry, less boxy blazers, and lighter-colored shirts, which are more flattering and an almost successful imitation of an elegant look. Absolonová is always in uniform, whether athletic wear in the first section or glammed up in the last two parts. It is only in private that she dresses casually.
“Her Body” changes a few details from Absolonová’s life. In the movie, the U.S. functions as the unattainable promised land and the disastrous turning point of both her careers. In real life, she shot adult films in the U.S. This change makes sense to simplify her goals and mindset, whereas if Císarovská mirrored reality, there would be less momentum. Accounts claim that her boyfriend persuaded her to enter the adult film industry, but the movie frames it as her idea, which he disapproved of, and his sour attitude destroyed their relationship. Alex is represented as a hypocrite who hates the loss of control and prefers double standards. He benefits from porn but reviles it and cares more about the appearance of being a respectable photographer and auteur. The warning signs are present while she dives. He sees a stunning woman who does not have to dive, but she sees him as an equal committed to a vision of his life.
If the real-life account is true, then Absolonová seems like a target of manipulation instead of an autonomous, empowered individual, and the movie is trying to revamp a well-worn story about a clueless woman trying to make her partner happy. The fictional account is a way to balance the scales in a way that represents real-life sex workers who see their career as a choice with the detraction of fictionalizing a real person’s experience, which in turn could be exploitative. On the other hand, who is telling the real-life account? If it is her family, it could be a stab at retroactive respectability. If it is her boyfriend, it could be a way to elevate his role in her life and reclaim the power that he felt he lost. Because some sources for this origin story are in Czechoslovakian or archived and no longer available, having a definitive account may not be possible.
“Her Body” prioritizes showing Absolonová’s family relationships and friendships and makes it seem as if her romantic relationships shriveled up with the flourishing of her professional career. While the movie resists some tropes, it obeys others by making it seem as if a sex worker will not be able to attract a partner. Absolonová seemed to have a healthy dating life, although some of her suitors hoped to convince her to leave her day job. She also continued a life of athletic adventure by doing high diving, parachuting, and rafting. Císarovská seemed to temper Absolonová’s recovery and amplify her injury so she would seem to have fewer occupational prospects. In contrast, Absolonová was still an adrenaline junkie who liked to push herself past an average person’s physical limits.
Though triumphant, the last scene, which was supposed to be a happy ending and was accurate, felt like a cheat. If someone is only there for you in a crisis but hates you when you are a success regardless of the respectability of your profession, which included active sabotage of Absolonová’s diving career, they are not there for you. They are comfortable with you at your smallest. Finally, a character that rivals Nessarose in “Wicked” for the worst sister ever.
“Her Body” is an entertaining, thoughtful biopic that defies convention. If Germani was in an English-language film, she would be lauded as one of the greatest actors of her time for displaying such versatility and humanity in one film. While it should probably come with the disclaimer, “Viewers should not try this at home,” The carpe diem vibe and message that “You have to make the most of life. Make a splash, get a bang out of life. Make sure you’re never bored” should be followed though the way that it applies should vary depending on the user. Absolonová rejected noble struggle and an athlete’s vow of poverty to carve out her own path, which led to most fame seekers’ destruction. It is still a controversial and unlikely path to success for most people, especially wannabe Olympians. It starkly contrasts the lives of real-life Olympians featured in 2014’s “Foxcatcher” and the upcoming “The Fire Inside,” out Christmas Day. To appreciate the story’s impact and let it linger long after you finish watching it, do not spoil yourself by looking up Absolonová’s life story before watching the movie.
‘Her Body’
Rating: Unrated
Director: Natálie Císarovská
Writers: Natálie Císarovská, Aneta Honzkova
Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Where to watch: Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Film Movement Plus, Prime Video
Grade: A
Boston Movie News 