Do Communists Have Better Sex?

A Study of Reds in Bed

What this aptly titled documentary alleges is that East Germans are far more progressive in the sexual arena than their Western counterparts. Once the mind stops baffling at why such a project would have been conceived and commissioned in the first place, the premise begins to intrigue.

Not only do East Germans partake in more sexual activities, they typically start earlier, have more partners, are more experimental, and enjoy themselves a whole lot more than, well, West Germans.

Can it be that communist East German society created a liberal paradise of free experimentation and expression? Despite the odd appearance of nudity, this is not that kind of documentary. Filmmaker, André Meier attempts to seriously analyse an interesting sociological situation. Points of discussion centre on the differing public policies between East and West to find an answer.

In proving the case, Meier stretches his research to encompass a number of sources which include archival footage, pornographic magazines and films of the region, a few home videos, as well as educational films that were state produced.

In the end, the answer to the title is a resounding maybe. But the ride will have at least been educational.

Minh Nguyen