Using experimental narrative structure as his vehicle, Benning recreates the sensationalized and controversial circumstances surrounding Lorencia Bembenek, aka "Bambi", former "Playboy bunny" turned cop, turned accused and convicted killer who disappeared after a daring escape from prison. The film shows the evolution of Benning's and Bembenek's relationship presented through their actual letters read in voice over which depict the filmmaker's curiosity with the subject as it evolves from intrigue to a love obsession. (imdb) 　　Lawrencia Bembenek was a beautiful bride, a 22-year-old blonde who had worked as both a policewoman and a Playboy bunny, when she was arrested in Milwaukee for the murder of her husband's ex-wife. Though the evidence was circumstantial and none of it implicated Miss Bembenek directly or exclusively, she was sentenced to life in prison. Her husband, who had expressed resentment over having to support his ex-wife, sought a divorce soon after his wife's conviction. ''Dear Lawrencia,'' he wrote to her. ''Goodbye. Good luck - Fred.'' 　　The strong possibility that Miss Bembenek, who has been in prison since her 1982 conviction, may have been wrongly accused helped attract the film maker James Benning to her case. Another part of the attraction, as Mr. Benning freely acknowledges, was Miss Bembenek herself. In 1986, her picture in the newspaper caught his eye, and he began corresponding with her and planning a film about her story. ''In all honesty,'' he wrote her, ''I must admit the kind of films I make would hardly benefit you - no money, no mass attention.'' 　　However, the trouble with Mr. Benning's ''Used Innocence,'' which opens today at the Film Forum 1, goes beyond its likely lack of exposure. In attempting both to reconstruct and examine the case against Miss Bembenek, Mr. Benning has a great deal of difficulty translating his information into visual terms. Letters to and from the film maker and his subject, which are read right down to their ZIP codes, are accompanied by nothing more evocative than footage of blue skies. Courtroom testimony, sometimes read in voice-over and sometimes re-enacted by performers who are less than convincing, is presented in a lullingly monotonous way. At times, Mr. Benning peppers these scenes with brief blackouts, as if attempting to wake up his audience. 　　Some of the information is accompanied by long, long scenery shots, taken from a car moving through the Milwaukee environs where the crime occurred. Another voice-over section is actually accompanied by a pitch-dark screen. At the film's end, an actress playing Miss Bembenek is seen silk-screening a poster in the prison's printing shop, repeating this monotonous task perhaps 20 times over. And Mr. Benning, whose style can be as confusing as it is deliberatly flat, at one point lets the camera pan over a newspaper clipping while a voice in the background reads something entirely different. 　　(Janet Maslin, New York Times)

At her husband's funeral, Pearl, Jewish mother of two divorced and antagonistic daughters, meets an old Italian friend of her husband, whose advice years previously had stopped the husband leaving home. For 23 years he, now a widower, has secretly loved Pearl.

At her husband's funeral, Pearl, Jewish mother of two divorced and antagonistic daughters, meets an old Italian friend of her husband, whose advice years previously had stopped the husband leaving home. For 23 years he, now a widower, has secretly loved Pearl.

Ex-mercenaries, who have seen and done horrible things, decide to retire and open up a used car lot. They sell a lemon to the wrong person, and find themselves reverting back to their old ways as mercenaries.

A lawyer tries to prove her mother's innocence and uncover the secrets of a small village with the help of the local mayor. Her mother was accused of murder after the rice wine was poisoned at her husband's funeral, but she is suffering from memory loss and cannot defend herself.

The fall from the top to the absolute bottom can be very fast. A renowned physician, also a beloved father and husband, is accused of a serious felony. Innocence is hard to prove, especially when in desperation to try to save oneself, we sacrifice the secrets that should have remained hidden forever.

After losing her mother in a tragic accident, Beckett Warner realizes that her troubles may be far worse—her school is run by a coven of beautiful women who perpetuate their youth by drinking the blood of virgins.

A high school graduate leaves behind her modest life and finds work in the sex industry, but it ends in disaster. A dramatized account of the life of the adult actress Shauna Grant.

Stacy, a rebellious teenager, leaves home for the freedom and adventure of life on the road away from her parents. Afraid and alone, she is befriended by Richard, a handsome ex-con traveling across the country on a crime spree. Her short lived joy soon turns to terror.

A famous violinist Caroline Waverly returns to her home town. A killer is on the streets, and Caroline may be a target for murder.