Veronika Voss
Veronika Voss | |
---|---|
Directed by | Rainer Werner Fassbinder |
Written by |
|
Produced by | Thomas Schühly |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Süddeutscher Rundfunk |
Distributed by | Filmverlag der Autoren |
Release date | 18 February 1982 |
Running time | 104 minutes |
Country | West Germany |
Language | German |
Veronika Voss (
Veronika Voss is the second film of his BRD Trilogy, but was chronologically made last, after The Marriage of Maria Braun and Lola. It is also the penultimate film of his career (preceding Querelle) and the last film released during Fassbinder's lifetime.
Plot
In 1955
Veronika and Robert soon begin a love affair, even though Robert already lives with his girlfriend Henriette, who nevertheless realizes that Veronika has an irresistible allure. When Veronika arrives at their apartment asking to spend the night with Robert at her large house outside of the city, Henriette passively allows Robert to go with her. During their rendezvous, Veronika awakens in a manic and confused state, which startles Robert.
Veronika's behavior clearly becomes erratic and increasingly desperate, and her faltering career sends her into a further downward spiral, as she finds herself being passed over for roles which are given to younger actresses. Robert decides to write a story about aging movie stars that were once popular and now unnoticed, using Veronika as a case study. As Robert delves into her life he discovers that she is essentially a captive to a corrupt neurologist named Dr. Marianne Katz. Dr. Katz keeps Veronika addicted to morphine and uses her power to give or deny drugs as a means to bleed the actress of her wealth.
To verify his suspicions, Robert has Henriette approach Dr. Katz and pretend to be a rich woman in need of psychiatric care. Dr. Katz writes Henriette a prescription for an opiate but afterward witnesses her making a phone call in the street outside the office. Dr. Katz then has Henriette killed and with Veronika's help covers up the crime when Robert arrives with the police.
The film ends tragically as Dr. Katz and her cohorts have Veronika sign over all that she owns and leave her with a fatal dose of pills. After Veronika's death, Robert observes the villains celebrating their victory and is unable to do a thing.
Cast
- Rosel Zech as Veronika Voss
- Hilmar Thate as Robert Krohn
- Cornelia Froboess as Henriette
- Annemarie Düringer as Dr. Marianne Katz
- Armin Mueller-Stahl as Max Rehbein
- Doris Schade as Josefa
- Erik Schumann as Dr. Edel
- Peter Berling as Film producer
- Günther Kaufmann as G.I.
- Sonja Neudorfer as Saleswoman
- Lilo Pempeit as Manageress
- Volker Spengler as Film director #1
- Herbert Steinmetz as Gardner
- Elisabeth Volkmann as Grete
- Hans Wyprächtiger as Editor-in-chief
- Peter Zadek as Film director #2
- Johanna Hofer and Rudolf Platte as the old married couple
- Juliane Lorenz as a secretary
Comment
The film is loosely based on the career of actress
Fassbinder has a
Music
Several American country music songs appear on the soundtrack throughout the film, including
Reception and awards
The film was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Bear.[2]
Roger Ebert added the film to his Great Movies collection.[3]
In 2012, filmmaker
See also
- List of German language films
- List of recent films in black-and-white
References
- ^ Rosel Zech and Juliane Lorenz interview in 2003 for the Criterion Collection DVD of the film. Also contained in the Artificial Eye Region 2 edition.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1982 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
- ^ "Veronika Voss: rogerebert.com: Great Movies". Retrieved 2013-01-08.
- ^ "BFI". www.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016.
External links
- Veronika Voss at IMDb
- Veronika Voss at AllMovie
- Lost Film Comments: Review
- Sweet Death: Veronika Voss Production History an essay by Michael Töteberg at the Criterion Collection