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A FILM BY WERNER SCHWEIZER

"From now on,
everything will be different.

"I'm starting a new life.

"I've set my heart
on achieving many things:

"freedom, crazy adventures
in far-off countries,

"professional success,
leading a truly exciting life.

"In America, I'll finally belong
to no one but myself."

"If I hadn't met Iris,
I'd be the happiest of men.

"But I am like he who has breathed in
the scent of the Fairy Kingdom.

"And for whom ordinary women
have no more attraction.

"And now she has left me.

"What am I going to do?"

ENEMIES IN LOVE

BASED ON THE NOVEL OF THE SAME NAME
BY WILFRIED MEICHTRY

UNIVERSITY OF BERN
1940

That was so boring!

-What a waste of time!
-It really was.

Prof. Lüthi is as effective as
a sleeping pill.

Well, I found it rather interesting.

What a little go-getter you are!

Gentlemen, here is the future lawyer
of the petty bourgeoisie.

The lecture had
some interesting aspects.

We don't care.

Let him talk about results.
It's the means that count.

It's just hot air.

It was at the University of Bern.

LAWYER
CLASSMATE

We passed each other
in the corridors.

And I noticed her.

She walked quickly
and with a swagger.

She was a beautiful woman

with her blond hair
and mischievous eyes.

But I was never a rival to Peter.

I could never have given her
what Peter had to offer.

Oh!

Mr. von Roten?

I'm really sorry,
I don't know what I was thinking.

No, wait.

Come in.

Oh...

I'm sorry, I don't know...

Just like a novel.

Please excuse me.

Make yourself at home.

Let me slip something on
and I'll be right back.

What can I get you?

-Coffee? Tea?
-Coffee, please.

"Criminal law and the rule of law."

"Modern Woman, The Lost Sex."

Look me in the eyes,
Mr. von Roten.

Do you take milk and sugar?

Milk and sugar,
Mr. von Roten?

Just sugar, please.

Are legal texts so interesting?

As a lawyer, I have no choice.

Apart from that?

I'm interested in knowing what
I'll be able to do in the future.

Yes, Miss Meyer.

You find that amusing!

Do you believe in freedom?

Do you?

We are all just...

cogs in the machine.

Cogs in the machine?

You're young,

handsome, intelligent, cultured.

You have the whole world
at your disposal.

You're too romantic.

Is that why you let men climb
into your apartment at night?

What?

I'm a realist, Miss Meyer.

You can go now,
Mr. von Roten.

But this time, use the door.

"Life disgusts me.

"I feel only one thing:
that everything is absurd, absurd.

"I've made huge efforts in all areas.

"And I feel my destiny
is like that of all martyrs.

"I think I'll buy a gun

"and put a bullet in my head."

That's not what I'd say
if I look at this photo.

WRITER

I think she's both...

But I can tell you
that when I saw her...

Obviously, maybe there...

There, she looks a little sad.

There.

She looks quite sad.

When I saw her, she wasn't sad.

She was really quite...

energetic and determined.

But with a feminine sensibility.

THREE YEARS LATER
1943

"Dear Miss Meyer,

"I was delighted to receive
your letter after all this time.

"You were the most beautiful
of all the students back then.

"But that night,

"when you invited me
into your room,

"it was for me the ultimate proof
of your depravity.

"I had to call on all my virtue
to resist you.

"Today, I think our meeting back then

"was just a big misunderstanding."

One of her qualities was
that she made good choices.

I would have trusted her.

If she said to me,

"I agree with you, I'm doing that"

even if it was dangerous,
I trusted her.

"It's hard to express, Mr. von Roten,
how much I admire you.

"Your character,
your intelligence

"and your supreme cheerfulness.

"You strike me like a Greek god,

"fascinating and wonderful.

"It's marvelous how your character

"clearly embraces such contrasts.

"You are smart, witty, astute,

"and extraordinarily open-minded.

"You have sparks of pure intuition."

That's when she confided in me
about the handsome man from Valois

she had met.

COUSIN OF IRIS

And about the time
she'd spent in Valais

and whether to become a Catholic.

The first thing he told us

was that he wanted
to become King of Valais.

That is obviously difficult.

COUSIN OF IRIS

"When I read your letters.
I could feel my blood pulsating.

"You offer me
such indescribable happiness

"that I have to wonder

"if your letters
do not contain opium,

"hashish or something even worse,

"but it is not so.

"Because the happiness remains.

"And I can make it appear anywhere,

"as if by magic,
as soon as I think of you."

My parents' biography is based

on the extensive exchange of letters

that took place
between the 1930s and the 1950s.

DAUGHTER OF IRIS AND PETER

My mother always kept those letters.

And apparently,
she also asked my father

to give her
those she had written to him.

She kept them in a trunk
along with other letters

she had received
and that were close to her heart.

They were love letters.

I knew all that.

My mother originally intended

to keep these letters
in a small mattress,

and for the mattress
to be put in her coffin,

so that her body rested
on these letters

and everything would be burned
when she was cremated.

"Our relationship is our life's work.

"Our love is the heart of our lives.

"It is the light by which
we can make out the shapes

"and colors of this world
with absolute clarity."

-Should we have a swim?
-Of course we should.

"I have no fear.

"The essential thing
is to maintain our love

"and to nurture it.

"It will bring us both

"a strong sense of self-fulfillment

"and an even greater sense
of achievement.

"Peter, be prepared to discover

"and apprehend
a totally unknown continent.

"And to forge ties
you could never have imagined."

Peter came from a very conservative
and Catholic background

and was clearly fascinated
by a world so different from his own.

He was a free-thinking, open man.

And for him, it must have been
unbelievable such a woman existed.

A beautiful woman
who was also intelligent.

I think the Frauenblatt
is the ideal opportunity for me.

They're giving me the editorial

and I really want to create
a fashion supplement.

"When I think of all
the possibilities ahead of us,

"I feel giddy.

"Together our life has meaning
and we find our reason for being.

"You're the small hand
counting the hours.

"I'm the big hand
counting the minutes

"and our love is the clock face."

You don't want to have
sexual relations with me?

Iris...

The Catholic church forbids it
before marriage.

That's ridiculous, a priest's idea.

I'm craving it.

I crave to touch you.

One day, you'll regret your chastity,
believe me.

Maybe we should order.

Do you want to marry me?
Or do you need to ask your priest?

Yes... No...

-Yes, I want to.
-What do you want?

I want you to be my wife.

But my mother wouldn't consent.

You're not taking her to the altar.

"What a world!

"Men are the masters.

"And women are servants.

"Women must not have opinions,

"or demands or power.

"They must stay at home
and take care of daily life:

"slicing ham for the casserole,
sewing on a button...

"And an ink stain on the tablecloth
is a catastrophe."

This situation is simply intolerable.

They were the landed gentry.

They were aristocratic landowners.

The idea of succeeding in life

meant having property
on which one could live.

It isn't...

One could have servants.

They were considered

as members of the family,
but on a different level.

It was something bourgeois,
but in a landowning sense.

She wants it to be Mother's Day
every day of the year.

You needn't worry, though,
she's not Catholic.

What if she converts?

Take the other glasses.

They are at the gate.

In the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Our Father who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day

Our daily bread
Forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those
Who trespass against us

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil. Amen.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Allow me.

-Your plate.
-Yes.

I remember Peter said one day

that this Miss Meyer
was an intelligent woman.

PETER'S SISTER

Not a woman one should marry
but ideal to converse with.

What do you think,

Miss Meyer, do you like it?

It's excellent, Mrs. von Roten.

-Your health.
-Your health.

Miss Meyer,

do you seriously think

that men and women are equal?

They are. Obviously.

History teaches us quite differently.

In that case, it's time to turn
the wheel of history.

You know you are in opposition
to divine providence?

Women are subject to men,
is that it?

I know, Mr. von Roten.

-You see.
-But what is this argument?

Using this archaic dictum as argument
is not defending faith but power.

In the name of religion,
you deliver patriarchal speeches

that have nothing to do
with faith.

This is scandalous!

How dare you!

"What is the reason for your family

"to display such hostility
towards me?

"Is it Catholicism?

"No, they simply don't know
how to classify me.

"In their world view,

"there is no place for a woman
with her own ideas and goals.

"I represent a way of life and
determination that troubles them."

And this is Johann Christian,
the ancestor so to speak.

Up there is his son, Christian Georg.

This is Hildebrand von Roten,
Prince Bishop of the diocese of Sion,

from 1750 to 1761.

And that's...

Heinrich von Roten.

Iris?

-That's my father!
-I know,

Catholic, conservative,
National Councilor...

I was six months old when he died.

Is that any reason
to play the model son?

You want me to give it all up?

You have understood nothing.

I'm supposed to throw it all away?

Look at you.

You're on really bad terms
with your family.

RAPPERSWIL
NEAR LAKE ZURICH

Iris's mother was like a statue.

A beautiful woman, very reserved.

But Iris was not very complimentary
about her parents.

LAWYER
CLASSMATE

She didn't complain about them,

but she found it sad
her mother wasn't more fulfilled.

She attributed the cause
to the society of men.

It became her hobbyhorse,
this society of men.

According to her,
men work together to oppress women.

She liked Manfred.
There were high expectations of him

and I think he liked Iris
but didn't understand her.

For him, she was an enigma.

"I was first beset

"by the demon of melancholia
at a children's party.

"I felt as if nobody liked me.

"That I was completely excluded
from society.

"I felt as if everyone else
was of the same species

"and that I was
the only one different.

"As a young girl, I read
Famous Swiss People.

"It was said of Benjamin Constant

"that he lived his life
in a permanent need to be loved.

"With me, that need is even stronger.

"I have a constant,
unquenchable thirst for love."

You can't do such a thing.

Read it first.

"Article one:

"Regarding my professional life,

"I am totally free.

"If I decide to take up
a professional activity,

"no other activity
shall take priority over it,

"not the running of the household
nor the children's education

"nor their learning."

I will only accept living with you
if we are totally equal.

"We must agree on the way
to educate our children."

You haven't read everything
about running the household.

"Apart from domestic chores
as I see fit,

"I don't want to concern myself with
or know about

"cooking, sewing, cleaning, etc.

"So, we'll need
a full-time housekeeper

"or at least several hours a day."

I fully accept this contract.

On condition you become a Catholic.

Back to that again?

Peter, please.

I thought she was inconsistent.

It was all about women for her.

She wanted
the right to vote for women,

yet she didn't call herself
Iris Meyer

but took her husband's name.

It was obviously better to be called
von Roten than Meyer.

IRIS MEYER AND PETER VON ROTEN

HAVE THE PLEASURE
OF ANNOUNCING THEIR WEDDING

I had imagined it quite differently.

What do you mean?

I don't know.

More tenderness.

Sensuality.

Something less selfish.

During the sexual act,
both partners should come.

Not just the man,
but also the woman.

No lessons now, please.

I'm not your pleasure machine.

A woman is more than just her sex.

I...

Yes.

I'm just not very...

At ease...

With things.

"With things..."

What did those priests of unhappiness
do to you?

I am the result of 2,000 years
of anti-sexuality

and Catholic prohibitions.

You married me, you did it...

Against the wishes of your family.

Thank you for having given up
on making me convert.

Yes...

Now, in the eyes of everyone,
I'm the black sheep.

Better than following the herd,
don't you think?

P. AND I. VON ROTEN
LAW OFFICE

"I did it all wrong.

"I should never have got married.

"A woman should have sexual relations

"with all the men
she loves or desires.

"Just one man for life is pitiful."

-Hello. Do you mind?
-No, go ahead.

"The husband is in charge
of the family and the conjugal union.

CAMPAIGN FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS

"The wife must keep house."

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is
still the situation in Switzerland.

And if that weren't enough,

article 167 of the civil code
states that,

"A woman may not undertake a career

"without having obtained
her husband's permission."

Swiss women must wage war
in their fight against this law.

The patriarchal rooster
must continue to be plucked

until women have obtained
the right to vote.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am convinced
that women must fight for this right

and not wait for men
to join them in this fight.

"When you became a suffragette,
it disgusted me more

"than if you were a morphine addict
or a brothel madam.

"I imagined you having meetings
surrounded by old spinsters.

"I was so distressed!

"But recently,
when I came to your talk,

"I understood what loyalty meant.

"It means:
Supporting you unconditionally.

"Even if many people
find it ridiculous.

"Being loyal means joining the fight
for women's right to vote.

"Saying that you are a woman
of exceptional intelligence.

"And that there is no shame
in following you."

It was a really beautiful spring day.

Perhaps May or June,

since I was always
in Geesch at that time.

We went out for a walk.

She was young and beautiful.

Very alive, very determined,
with even a certain...

She could be quite dictatorial.

She stopped for a moment.

She turned around and looked at me.

And she said, "You know...

"It's very beautiful.

"When you're 60,
you should end your life.

"I will kill myself then.

"You should be able
to end your life."

Moved by the beauty of life
and the beauty of the countryside,

young and beautiful, she said,
"Life should end when you're 60."

-Mrs. von Roten.
-Yes.

The photos of the reception
in honor of your husband.

Thank you.

Your husband will be
a great National Councilor.

It was a lovely reception.

For you, maybe.

Have a nice day.

Members of the National Council
and Council of States, dear friends.

The municipality of Raron

is proud of its son, Peter von Roten,

who is the youngest member
of the Swiss National Council.

Thank you.

Thirty years!

Yes, thirty years
after his father Heinrich...

Whom no one has forgotten.

A member of the noble
von Roten family

is once again entering Parliament.

Thank you.

Councilor von Roten,

may I take a photo of the two of you?

-Yes, please.
-Over here?

Yes.

Yes, over here.

-Here?
-Yes.

Very good.

Thank you very much.

They're lovely.

And one final one.

Allow me to introduce you.

Mr. Eicher,

-my wife Iris.
-Delighted.

A female lawyer from Zurich
here in the flesh in Valais!

Yes, and one with horns
like the devil.

She has a sense of humor.

Women's right to vote,
is that a serious thing?

-Yes.
-Mr. Anthamatten, I can speak.

And yes, it's serious!

It's not natural.

What will happen to the children,

running the household?

True, women are ignorant of politics.

Do you not have other arguments?

Yes, a woman...

The cow should stay in the stable.
It has an udder and has to be milked.

Be careful the cow doesn't gore you

and toss you into the manure pit.

-That's who you married?
-Yes, that's her.

Iris.

Iris...

You just stood there
and said nothing!

But...

Iris?

Iris?

What is it?

Huh?

Did you have a good day?

Iris.

This damned canton of Valais
is getting on my nerves.

No... But... Iris?

You're handling your first case.

I've just got two dirtbags acquitted.

Call that a case?

Iris, look, I know
this isn't easy for you.

It's a den of evil, this place.

I'm losing my dignity here.

Your dignity?

You have your life,
you're Peter von Roten, you're a man.

You'll become a Federal Councilor
while I suffocate.

You say you're suffocating,
losing your dignity.

I don't want to hear this.

Stop it.

What do you want me to do?

You have such high ideas.

You invent a world
sitting at your machine

and you want people
to be just as you imagined them

outside your office.

But these are normal people
living according to their ways.

You're lying to yourself.

You provoke people
and I'm the one who pays.

You don't see what happens to me
every day in Raron!

And what was that outburst
at the reception?

You dare to say I am not loyal?

You have made a fool of me.

I am loyal!

I won't have people making fun of me,
making jokes at my expense.

My family thinks I am ridiculous.

Yes, that's it, just walk away!

Iris...

Please forgive me.

I'm tired of everything, Peter,
including you.

What has this to do with me?

After dinner,
you go to bed and sleep.

We barely speak to each other.

I want more, from sex too.

I do too.

I need to leave here.

So, you're back
to this America thing again.

"Dear Peter,

"Your behavior drove me half crazy

"and extinguished all my desires.

"In America, I'll believe once again

"that I don't belong to anyone
but myself

"and I will explore
all erotic possibilities

"that life offers.

"I want to breathe the air of a place
where equal rights are visible.

"I don't yet know if
and when I will return.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA
SEPTEMBER 1948

"I'm going to write a book.

"A feminist book that will set out
to women in clear terms

"the reality of their situation
and the misery of their condition.

"The issue for me is
that women must be deeply fulfilled.

"Women must be
physically, spiritually

"and economically free
throughout their lives.

"It's not just
about the right to vote."

"October 29, 1948."

"Peter, do you want to know
how it all started with Louis?"

Iris.

Iris.

Hello.

You may not know me,

but we take the same journalism class
at 10 a.m.

Would you like to get a coffee?

"He surprised me.

"The men who manage to surprise me
always have a lot of sex appeal.

"Louis told me
there aren't many people

"whom he can speak with
for more than two hours

"without ending up
being annoyed by them.

"Might I be an exception?

"Not just because he likes me,
but because he loves me.

Louis, kiss me.

"Dear Iris, I fear
I will never see you again.

"I am obsessed with the idea

"that you like being with Louis
more than me.

"If, erotically and sexually,
he satisfies you in ways

"that I do not,

"then, what can I do?

"This anxiety plagues me
more than jealousy."

You refused to listen to me.

Come to the chapel with me.

It's not just about you,
but your family.

Aren't you ashamed?

"How easy and convenient it was

"when I was a devout Catholic!

"I received from the pulpit

"instructions on how
to live my daily life.

"Now, I'm like a leaf,

"blown this way and that by the wind.

"I have nothing to support me."

Forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those
who trespass against us

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil...

Do you need something?

Just a signature.

Very well.

Will Mrs. von Roten stay long
in America?

Yes.

It may be quite a while.

She's looking for men.

I mean...

She's doing some research.

Oh, I see...

It's for her book.

You work too hard.

I have to, I'm trying to hold back
the tide with a broom.

I think it will be a success.

No, they'll think it's pornography.

Well, you should give it up then,

all this feminism stuff.

-Oh...
-Listen.

I have a picnic.

Ham, cheese and wine.

You're a lifesaver, you know?

I have my car here.

"I wonder if it's normal
that I'm not at all jealous.

"Quite the opposite.

"I find that I remain indifferent
to your physical infidelity.

" It even pleases me.

"Pleases me...

"Really pleases me.

"It really pleases me.

"If you've got
what you're looking for.

"I am happy
for your erotic successes.

"Yet the idea that you could fall
in love with someone else...

"and forget me...

"is excruciating."

Today, we're at the University
of Bloomington in Indiana

where the Institute for Sex Research
is located.

Dr. Kinsey has degrees in biology
and psychology.

For 25 years, he studied
the behavior of insects.

Dr. Kinsey,

can you tell us
how you went from studying insects

to human sexual behavior?

I looked at data in psychology,

biology and medicine.

While working on that data,

I discovered that we knew

practically nothing
about human sexual behavior,

whereas the field
of animal sexuality...

I really have to write my book.

Five pages every day.

This book is a real obsession.

Obviously!

Why should we let
these old insect gazers

reduce us to common beasts?

In America, 50% to 60% of marriages
end in separation or divorce.

This can be for several reasons,

but 75% of divorce petitions

are motivated primarily
by sexual problems.

Thank you.

"One thing struck me about Louis.

"Unlike Peter, he is very familiar
with female sexuality

"and techniques
for bringing women to climax.

"The following point is important.

"An experienced man knows how to use
foreplay to arouse a woman

"before painlessly introducing
his penis into her vagina.

"Am I in love with Louis?

"Moments when I am sure
I am not in love alternate

"with those
with such a magnetic power

"that it seems like the same blood
runs in both our bodies."

The National Council

is planning financial reforms.

The President
of the Confederation, Nobs,

discusses with a National Councilor.

The committee members
review their report.

Olbrecht, Reichling and Dietschi
all agree.

Mr. Cellio argues with Mr. Maspoli.

The journalist, Œri, pores
over the text of a new editorial.

Mr. von Roten confers
with Colonel Bircher.

The President of the Radical
Democratic Party, Pini from Biasca,

and Bühler from Zurich,
will align themselves

in this debate with the federalists.

"Peter, I'm going to be
completely frank.

"Louis's wonderful caresses
do me the world of good.

"How I would suffer
to be deprived of them!

"I wouldn't mind if you did something
to compensate, dear Peter."

"Something to compensate?

"Sexual relations
with another woman?"

Von Roten!

In my office.

Councilor.

What's this I hear?

What are you talking about?

What's this bill
on women's right to vote?

It's high time.

You will drop it.

I already filed it this morning.

Stop, von Roten,
can't you see what's happening?

You're being manipulated
by your wife.

That has nothing to do with it.
She's right.

As a politician, you're finished.

"Iris, there's nothing more pitiful

"than these sweaty old men
in the Federal Palace.

"What's the point of the life
I lead here?

"Am I, Peter von Roten,
Catholic National Councilor,

and editor of the Catholic newspaper,
Walliser Bote,

"considering having
erotic adventures?

"I should accept the idea

"that you sleep with other men

"and I can even go so far
as to justify it.

"Sometimes, I think you and I

"are amoral monsters."

Miss Genoud, Mr. von Roten.

Come in.

Miss Genoud.

Pleased to meet you.

Likewise. Please, sit down.

Right...

So...

What can I do for you?

It's about my will.

Really, your will?

No, I meant my father's will.

All right, that's better.

I want to contest it.

"Dear Iris, as soon as she entered,

"I noticed the friendly and
persistent way she looked at me.

"And how she squeezed my hand.

"I almost feel guilty telling you

"that she is very pretty.

"And during our conversation,

"I toyed with the idea
of an erotic adventure with her."

We will now hear from the defense,
Mr. von Roten.

Elisa Zumstein and Victor Juon

lived together for two years
without a marriage license.

It's a violation of the law
that prohibits cohabitation.

It should be punished,
as prosecution counsel has said.

Mr. Loretan, he loves her.
Do you understand?

And she loves him.

That's why they moved in together.

And that's what the prosecution
wants to punish.

It is outrageous that two people

cannot go to bed together
without informing the State.

Permission to speak.

You may speak, Mr. Loretan.

Your Honor,

I think Mr. von Roten is confused

about his duties here.

He is here in the Court
of the Canton of Valais

and not at the Walliser Bote.

We're dealing with the law
and respect for the law, not love.

Mr. von Roten, you may continue.

Mr. Loretan,
I'll go one step further.

You condemn people for adultery

and you insist on the idea
of conjugal duty.

Do you think it makes any sense

to impose fidelity through the law?

In other words,

can one demand
that a partner one loves

be absolutely faithful?

This is a scandal.

Mr. von Roten is spreading debauchery
and the most heinous decadence.

Mr. von Roten,
stick to the facts.

We're adjourned until tomorrow.

OK?

Mr. von Roten.

Ah...

Miss Genoud.

Hello.

You distracted me,
I almost lost track.

I thought I was encouraging you.

Would you like a coffee?

"Today, she invited me for a coffee.

"Suddenly, she took my arm

"and put her head on my shoulder.

"She told me her name was Isabelle.

"And with that,
we were on first name terms.

"Then, in the blink of an eye,
we were in the barn.

"We kissed in the hay, nothing more.

"Iris, I have to admit,
it seemed crazy and reckless.

"Anyone could have come in on us."

"Afterwards, we had to look
for her earrings in the hay,

"and then her purse and keys."

It's entirely her fault
that her husband moved to the left.

PETER'S SISTER

Because she was away
for months in America.

Iris!

Iris, wait.

I'm sorry.

I've only just got out
of a study group.

That's why you kept me waiting?

I have five exams next week.

And it's too much for you?

My job, my studies, you...

I...

I'm in love with you.

Don't fall apart now, young man.

My career, my future, everything...

I will predict your future.

In future, remember

that every day spent without me
will haunt you

even when you're old.

Come on, darling, let's go.

-Just one hour, OK?
-OK.

"It's amazing, Peter,

"how things
that would normally leave me cold

"are made alive and interesting
when I'm in love.

"Desire is as important to me
as eating or sleeping.

"Especially since I shut myself away
in order to write."

-You came?
-As you can see.

I have a meeting close by.

-You have a meeting.
-Yes, and...

I thought that...

OK.

But I can't stay long.

Henriette, bring some glasses.

Peter, sit down a moment.

You're really naughty.

"Dear Iris, I feel guilty

"telling you
about my sexual relations.

"They also take up
almost all my time.

"I find these erotic adventures

"more exciting
than political adventures.

"I'm writing to you about this
to help with your research.

"And I hope it will be useful
for your book."

Hello, Iris.

Can you tell me what this means?

This is not the time.

"Iris, I can't do this anymore,
it's too much."

Please leave.

Coward...

Women...

Always looking for problems.

You're as spineless as the rest.

You're pathetic.

As soon as you feel something,
you run away.

I don't need to listen
to this nonsense.

"It ended catastrophically yesterday
with the wretched Louis.

"I'd hoped for so much
from this relationship.

"It really stimulated my thoughts.

"Then in one night,
it was reduced to dust.

"I have to get this wretch
out of my mind.

"Peter,

"you never let yourself be humiliated

"and you never lose your dignity.

"Whereas I am like a bad swimmer

"who keeps swallowing water.

"There's no dignity to be had
with your head underwater.

"In such moments I despise myself.

"I'm the perfect example
of dependency, misery and weakness.

"Until I get my head above water

"and I'm myself again.

"I need some success so much.

"Up until now,
my efforts have led to nothing.

"I am in a miserable room

"with a greasy cord
to switch on the light.

"To be heartbroken is the last reason

"I came to America."

Women, who are like
a coup de théâtre in Nature,

as Schopenhauer said,

are anatomically closer
to their children

than their husbands.

By instinct,
men have an ability to learn

and are very aware.

Women, on the other hand,

and this is quite obvious
when you see those who support

Councilor von Roten,
are very vulnerable.

They blush and shout.

The main argument
against the vote for women

is that motherhood
is the will of God.

So, that must remain their main task.

Councilor Bircher
has an outdated argument.

A hundred years ago,
we invoked God's will

to keep farmers and workers

under the yoke of servitude.

Councilor Bircher wants
to convince us

that sewing, cooking, having babies,

is the only role
that God assigned to women.

As if God had created men
to enjoy cigars and a glass of wine.

And women to serve food,
clean and tidy up.

Look, there he is.

This little wuss certainly won't give
the same speech twice.

Commissioner, Gentlemen.

The great genius Roten...

-Have you lost your mind?
-What do you mean?

Why this relentless attack
against military planes?

Do you want to abolish the army,

-you feminist lackey?
-The Russians

know where our bunkers are.

As for the vote for women,
the time has come.

Oh yes, sure, the time has come.

You're fouling your own nest.

You're absolutely right.

"Nest"?

That's exactly the right word.

You're going too far.

"Dear Iris,

"although in the newspapers
I am now

"the youngest and most promising
Councilor in Switzerland,

"for the Catholic Conservative Party

"I am a constant source
of irritation.

"I have been told that with my bill

"on women's right to vote,
I won't be re-elected."

"When I see how intelligently
and generously

"you describe the National Council,

"you seem like a son of the Gods

"observing the nocturnal activities
of unleashed goblins.

"As for me, everything is now
about my chapter on eroticism.

"My experience with Louis

"has helped me, despite everything,
to explore female psychology."

That was a nightingale not a lark.

No.

It's the Catholic Conservatives.

Calling me to the headquarters
of the Federal Council.

Why don't you leave Iris?

Impossible.

You know that?

Are you so sure
she will come back one day?

That's not the issue.

Peter, I want to know
what ties you to her.

"My dear Peter,
my latest conquest is called Ed.

"He's a businessman,
young, successful

"who wears crocodile skin shoes
and is learning to fly.

"I've kissed him a few times
but I'm not in love.

"Why did I love that miserable Louis

"but I don't love Ed?

"Actually, Peter,
you should stop seeing Miss G.

"She's in love with you."

"I will stop seeing Miss G.

"I'm currently seeing a Finnish woman
I met at a reception.

"I couldn't stop myself
from kissing her.

"What can I do
if women throw themselves at me?

"Iris, you have led me astray
with your theories."

"Male psychology remains
an enigma to me.

"I don't understand
the impersonal desires of men.

"You shouldn't devour everything
and anything the way you do."

"It's ridiculous being devoured
by sexuality the way I am.

"Compared to you, I feel I am in love
like an insatiable ogre."

"The chapter on motherhood is ready.

"I'll send it to you with the others.

"I'm sure

"I won't find a publisher
for this book.

"And even if it were printed,
it would be banned.

"It's difficult writing a book

"that will only create mortal
enemies for us."

"Your book is a masterpiece.

"The subject alone
makes it completely new.

"Not just in Switzerland,
but the whole of Europe.

"You really sense the hunger
and thirst for justice.

"You will be the Copernicus
and the Galileo of feminism.

"I still love you, now more
than ever. Your loving Peter."

"My dear Peter,

"I have to admit
I'm feeling a little homesick.

"If only we'd had
more romantic experiences

"before we were married,

"things would have been
better for us."

"Iris...

"Could we have spent the time

"more stupidly than we did
by torturing each other?"

ONE YEAR LATER
AUGUST 1949

"The only thing
that consoles me in all this

"is that we have become
reasonable enough

"to accept each other."

"When I think of you,

"you seem from afar
the most attractive

"and most interesting man of all.

"The only man with whom
I would like children."

MRS. PETER VON ROTEN
HAS THE PLEASURE OF INVITING YOU

TO A RECEPTION ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1955
HEUBERG 12, BASEL

MORNING DRESS/BLACK TIE

Sarah!

How are you?

I'm pleased you remember me.

Ernest!

-It's different.
-Don't you think...

Darius, just a moment.

-Pleased to meet you.
-Darius.

Ladies, Gentlemen.

Oh!

Hortensia, honey...

If you want, you can stay up
like an adult.

When you get tired,
just tell Rosetta you want to sleep.

-OK?
-Yes.

You're so grown up.

What a delightful child!

She's really grown!

Little Hortensia wandered
among the guests

in the Basel apartment.

Nine o'clock came,
then ten, then ten-thirty.

I thought that was interesting.

I wondered how she managed
in the morning.

We never see her.

She lives with a family
in the east of Switzerland.

You put your daughter in a family?

Yes.

How could you do that?

I have no skill for dealing
with small children.

And my career keeps me busy.

Working is more important
than raising her?

That isn't normal.

You think so?

Leading a life
of washing diapers,

preparing muesli and beating carpets
has no interest for me.

You must admit it's quite extreme.

Indeed it is.

When I ask for day care to be set up,
who is against?

Women.

That's going a bit far.

-Make room for me?
-With pleasure.

We'll shove over.

Very kind.

-Do you like the champagne?
-Yes.

Little Hortensia dragged a pillow
behind her

and then she could just find
a place to sleep wherever.

Once, in the doorway
between two rooms.

She lay down, put her head
on the pillow and fell asleep.

I was struck by that.

I thought, "That's great.

"The child can sleep
when she needs to, it's all OK."

Rosetta.

Come here.

Come.

There we go.

You'll soon be asleep in your bed.

I loved being in different places,

although at the beginning
I was a little homesick.

But I don't remember being unhappy

in any place I stayed

for a long time.

I was in the old town

and there were no children there.

When my parents put me
with a family in Flawil,

for a year and a half with a friend
of my mother's who was a teacher,

the aim was to let me be

with other children.

My father and I sometimes had
some strange little adventures.

He would take me somewhere,
to church, for example,

and suddenly he'd disappear.

Or he'd take me somewhere
in the city center

where I could ride my scooter,
but he didn't have the patience.

He told me he'd be back in an hour.

He was like a dancer

leaping about
from one place to another.

I know I mattered more
in my mother's life

than my father's.
There's no doubt.

"Men are really opposed to this idea

"because they are afraid

"that with full equality for women,
not just in the law,

"but also politically,

"we'll see a fly land
on a child's pacifier."

Keeping up?

A child's pacifier...

What does that sentence mean?

Like on the posters everywhere.

"But men are not thinking
of the pacifier of their dear child,

"they are in fact thinking
of their own."

She was really very intelligent.

She wanted to achieve something
with her book.

I was already thinking back then,

after I'd been writing
for her for some time,

"No one will read this book."

"His wife is only there
to pick up the role...

"The role of his dear mother,

"who sacrificed everything
for family."

I can't keep up.

Try to go faster.

You're dictating too fast.

One day, for example,

she told me we women
are too credulous.

That if a married man suddenly wants
to go to bed with a young woman,

she should say to him,

"OK, but first put 20,000 francs
in my bank account

"in case I have a child
and you skedaddle."

It was quite strange.

But she thought that was necessary.

Once a month

I met up with former classmates.

When I told them that,
they died with laughter.

Who prepares meals in your home?

-Me.
-Why you?

My grandmother cooked,
my mother cooked.

So, I cook.

She was beside herself at the idea
of such stupid people as me existing.

That I didn't say,

"Yes, you're right,
I agree with you."

I simply didn't know what she wanted.

We all hoped we would one day have
the right to vote.

But getting everything
she was asking for in one fell swoop

was unimaginable.

"Iris, my darling.

"I can't wait any longer.

"Everything's ready.

"On the legal side,

"I also got advice
from a federal judge.

"Now, it's up to women to be brave."

I fear you're getting your hopes up.

You could be disappointed.

I'm sure it will work.

From the Rhône valley, a cable car
goes to a mountain village

that's making
quite a name for itself.

For the first time,

women enter this place
of male superiority.

Are they afraid?

An army of reporters is here
to capture

this historic moment.

Do the women of Unterbäch
think of themselves as pioneers?

No, they're fulfilling the duty
they feel is theirs

with more apprehension
than necessary

due to the presence
of the photographers.

I've got you the vote,
you have your book.

DER SPIEGEL:
PROGRESS IN UNTERBACH

WOMEN'S VOTE BY THE BACK DOOR?

ESCAPADE IN UNTERBACH

"This is the book
I would have liked to read

"when I was 20 but couldn't find.

"It was written for young women
who want the impossible

"and for the few men
with enough intellectual curiosity

"to take an interest in the issue
of male domination

"as seen from the other side."

It has always been clear

that it was a life's work,
her life's work.

She was very proud of it.

But from the start, it was doubtful
it would ever see the light of day.

"Peter, just imagine.

"The typographers at Éditions Hallwag

"wanted to go on strike.

"They thought my book

"was a monstrous insult
against men.

"The publisher had to step in.

"Now, my book will finally come out.

"How many years of my life
has this book cost me?

"I feel like my footprints

"are now etched in the floor
under my desk."

WOMEN IN THE PLAYPEN
A STUDY OF THE FEMALE CONDITION

"That's the plight of mothers today.

"Mothers are tired
from all the efforts

"and sacrifices they make
so they can give,

"even the most insignificant child,

"even the most mediocre son,
a happy life.

"And so that he may mistake
his mediocrity for stature."

"A louse grows fat
sucking on the vital sap of a rose."

WOMEN IN THE PLAYPEN

An extremely daring book.

I read it in one go
and then re-read it.

All the male relatives also read it.

We quickly realized
it was a unique work

and that it was going to generate
a lot of discussion.

The publication of
Frauen im Laufgitter,

Women in the Playpen coincided
with the start of the school year.

I was just six years old
yet I was well aware

something wasn't right.

I could see it in the reactions
of my mother.

On the wall of our house,
someone had written,

"Whore."

I didn't know what "whore" meant.

But I knew that writing on walls
was not something you did.

Listen, this concerns you:

"Madam,
your husband must be a monster

"for you to publish
this horrible book."

Hear that? You're a monster.

You're only realizing that now?

I have grounds to sue for libel

till the end of my days.

Throw it all in the trash.

This woman wants

all men to be reincarnated
as women after death.

That's a nice idea.

And women as men...

How horrible!

What?
Wouldn't you like to be a boy?

-Absolutely not.
-Why not?

Because I'd have to marry a girl.

He loved his wife very much.

You could see that straight away.

He admired her.

She was so lucky to marry that man.

Because he understood her.

He approved of all her ideas

and everything she said,
wrote or did.

He was totally on her side.

You'll see,
they'll all be behind you tomorrow.

The League of Women is with you.

I don't know what to expect.

-Excuse me, Mrs. von Roten.
-Yes.

They're talking about your book
on the radio.

Thank you.

In her lifetime,

she washes 24 tons
of dishes and cutlery,

and she sweeps and cleans a surface
as big as Sicily.

How do you know that?

Read this book
and you'll be ready for divorce.

Turn that nonsense off.

Isn't she an admirer of
Elvis Presley?

In America, anyone who wears a skirt
is running after her.

This woman should do the hula hoop,

that would change her ideas.

After several hours
shaking her belly,

she would see men in a different way.

"You know what's most hurtful, Peter?

"Instead of criticizing
the content of my book,

"they mock me in public
and ruin my reputation.

"The trash that the press
and radio heaps on me

"reaches the most remote villages.

"The whole country is invited
to wallow in this filth."

So, let's discuss today's issue:
Women in the Playpen.

Your book, Mrs. von Roten.

Its tone is so...
aggressive and violent.

It harms all women.

Us as well as everyone else.

Do you think that men will willingly
allow you to vote?

Because you're nice and pretty?

You've spent 50 years
struggling for it.

Sorry I'm late.

Mrs. von Roten,
Your book is incredible!

It has completely convinced me.

May I ask the opinion
of the other women here present?

Mrs. von Roten...

What you write about men,
that's your business.

But making fun of us, of women,

I find that scandalous.

And as for sexuality,

free love, a single child,
that's just not possible.

It's disgusting.

What are you trying to say?

We have just one objective:
women's right to vote.

We have fought for this objective.

This is not the time to upset men.

You can't say such a thing.

This amazing book
should be our bible!

We're sorry, but in the interest
of women's right to vote,

we must distance ourselves
from your book and its content.

You dare to renounce a book
that defends the feminist cause

and all of its ideals?

ALLIANCE OF WOMEN'S ASSOCIATIONS
AGAINST "WOMEN IN THE PLAYPEN"

If I open that book today,

I think the case
against that woman,

brought by people
of her own generation,

was deeply unjust.

If you ask me
how I came to change my opinion,

it's due primarily

to the refusal to grant women
the right to vote

on February 1, 1959.

Men rejected it
by a two-thirds majority.

I was so angry I wanted to emigrate.

"The stale petty-bourgeois attitude
of the women's associations

"is an indisputable obstacle

"on the road to equality
between men and women.

"These so-called feminist leaders
have betrayed the movement.

"I watch with dread

"as their pseudo-feminist play acting

"degenerates more and more
into a kind of embarrassing charity."

And then carnival came.

It was the main theme.

It was the main theme
for the Basel Carnival.

Iris found it very hard to handle.

Because the attacks were very harsh.

They insulted her personally.

TRASH IN THE PLAYPEN

That carnival was horrible
for my mother.

So much so that she kept away,

repelled by those attacks
and those people.

"My dear Iris,

"I was horrified
by the way they treated you.

"But just think:
many enemies, many honors.

"You'll recover, my dear, dear Iris."

The big battle in Iris's life
was in fact now behind her.

She used to fight
using every conceivable means.

And then it was over.

The result was not at all
what she had imagined.

Women didn't support her,

the women's right to vote failed.

Almost overnight it seemed she wanted
nothing more to do with feminists.

It was like
she was done with all that.

"As a young woman,
during the course of my life,

"I always wanted to explore
as much as possible,

"every square centimeter
of the Earth.

"Traveling around the world

"seemed to me the greatest promise
for the future.

"Today, I feel yet again a nostalgia,

"a desire to see new countries
and have new encounters."

In 1960, she went to Turkey
in a Fiat 600.

With the aim
of writing a book about Turkey

and it was wonderful.

"Antalya, June 28, 1960.

"Darling,

"A woman driving alone in a country

"causes a commotion
in a village.

"Everyone came out.

"The men and young boys at least.

"Two questions concerned them.

"The first was about my nationality.

"The second was about my husband.

"I have been in this Turkish town
for a week.

"I met an interesting man.

"His name is Kani. He's an engineer
and he has opened doors for me.

"The people here are very hospitable.

"Tourists are considered as guests
not as cash cows."

I never wondered
what this companion's role was.

It was only after her death
in connection to her biography

that I thought about it.

Or when I read her letters.

But it didn't surprise or shock me.

I think it was in keeping
with what she always said.

There's no contradiction.

That's what I've always found
really astonishing about Iris.

When you read Women in the Playpen,

you can't fail to notice
that she is living exactly

according to the principles
she defended.

THE NOMAD'S HAREM
BY IRIS VON ROTEN

ANCIENT BATHS
BY IRIS VON ROTEN

"July 4, 1965.

"Dear Peter,

"I arrived back in Tehran yesterday.

"I traveled the whole way

"from Isfahan under a full moon.

"It's much more beautiful
than the light of day.

"I wonder
if I should come back through Iraq.

"Today, I found four letters
from you at the consulate.

"Goodbye, darling."

What annoyed me about my father

was that he had
a kind of camp of admirers.

And among the throng, there was
a certain number of women...

at least,
this was the impression I had...

who had no restraint.

And as in the case with celebrities,
they crossed the line.

That's how it felt to me

That said, I don't think he had
a relationship with A, B, C or D.

Nor did he have affairs
with each of these women

who were part of the fan club.

Mr. von Roten.

Looking at your long hair,

one could easily now believe

that the aristocrat from Valais
has become a hippy.

No, I am and remain a traditionalist.

Who is critical towards the State,

who has committed to fight
for homosexual rights

and wants to legalize drugs.

Marijuana would grow as well
in our climate as our Fendant

that makes a renowned wine.

We should launch an initiative.

The liberalization of absinthe,
hashish, cocaine and opium.

Are you up for that?

I'm going to write what you say.

I know.

Mr. von Roten,
for dozens of years now,

you have fought for Mass
to be celebrated in Latin.

Is that just a whim?

No, it's serious.

Please explain.

Do you know
the old church hymns in Latin?

The "Libera me"?

Or the "Requiem Aeternam"?

No.

And how could you?

Those melodies...

are by far the most splendid thing
Catholicism has created.

Anyone who cannot feel
deep within himself

the power of the requiem...

must have a heart of stone.

"My dear Peter,

"I would like to paint
a hundred big pictures.

"In the same way
I need air to breathe,

"I feel an immense need every day
for beauty.

"If I don't have the chance
to take it in often enough,

"something feels missing
from the harmony of my day."

That bouquet is extraordinary, Iris.

It's a work of art.

Thank you.

In two days, they'll have wilted.

Of course,
but today they are splendid.

It all goes so fast, Peter,
much too fast.

You haven't slept at all?

The old sleeping pills don't work,
I need different ones.

I'm sorry, my dear.

I have an article to write.

Or do you want me to stay with you?

No, go and work.

Certain things became harder then.

Some things became too much for her.

But it was always the same worries:

allergies, insomnia,

sometimes other health worries
I knew nothing about.

We could see she was not well,
but we made the best of it.

Medical issues were never a subject

we discussed as a family.

We found it awkward.

We never really had a reason
to prevent her from deciding

when life simply no longer
had any more attraction for her.

"Just as a guest should know
when to leave,

"we should also know
when to depart this life.

"The right age always seemed to me
to be between 65 and 75.

"On the other hand,

"suicide has always been considered
wrongly as a sign of unbalance.

"That makes the decision
even harder to take

"and to carry out.

"Today, however,
I have to make that decision."

STATEMENT REGARDING THE SUICIDE

JUST AS A GUEST SHOULD KNOW
WHEN TO LEAVE

WE SHOULD ALSO KNOW
WHEN TO DEPART THIS LIFE

"Iris is no longer here.

"She endured so much.

"But she never threw in the towel.

"And, as with everything,
she embraced her death

"and carried it out in style.

"Between a hibiscus in bloom

"and a scented jasmine
she floated,

"her legs just above the floor
covered with a rug.

"So that, visually, she looked like
the Angel of Annunciation.

"Or in a more heathen way, Iris
as the Messenger of Olympus

"who has something to announce
to us mere mortals."

OR PUT MORE SIMPLY

A LARGE EXCLAMATION POINT
AT THE END OF A BRAVE SENTENCE

An incredible sadness, yes.

A few days later,
he talked to me for hours.

It was a sort of monologue
in which he told me

how they met
and what he thought of her then.

We had a conversation

like I'd never been able to have
with him before.

"Iris appeared to me in a dream.

"Elegant, as always,
but still young.

"It was very clear to me

"that something wasn't right,
that one of us was dead.

"But I didn't know which one of us.

"She came to meet me,
she was so alive.

"I approached her
and she snuggled up to me.

"I wanted to hug her and keep her

"but she vanished in my arms.

"And I woke up.

"The most significant moment
in my life

"was certainly not getting my Ph.D.
or being on the National Council.

"It was climbing up to her room

"and all the innumerable letters
she wrote to me."

PETER VON ROTEN DIED AUGUST 20, 1991

A YEAR AFTER IRIS COMMITTED SUICIDE

Subtitling: Hiventy