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''Veronika Voss'' (, "The Longing of Veronika Voss") is a 1982 West German black-and-white
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker, dramatist and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema moveme ...
, and starring Rosel Zech, Hilmar Thate, and Cornelia Froboess. Loosely based on the career of actress Sybille Schmitz, the film follows the titular Veronika Voss, a morphine-addicted film star in 1955
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
who begins an affair with a sports journalist; soon after, he discovers that Veronika is under the control of a corrupt
neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...
scheming to bleed her of her wealth. ''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
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Veronika Voss is a neurotic, faded UFA film star who is said to have slept with
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...
but is now struggling to get roles. While riding the
U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four systems and 14 systems. The , commonly understood to stand for ('underground railway'), are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while the or ('city rapid railway') are c ...
, she meets sports reporter Robert Krohn and is intrigued that he does not know who she is. The two have lunch together, and Veronika is recognized in a jewelry shop by two older women who ask for her autograph, and comment on the death of Veronika's husband during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Veronika and Robert 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 becomes erratic and increasingly desperate, and her faltering career sends her into a 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 go 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 immediately afterwards sees her making a call from a phone booth across the street. Dr. Katz 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


Comment

The film is loosely based on the career of actress Sybille Schmitz and is influenced by
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...
’s ''
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
''. Fassbinder has a cameo role in the beginning of the film sitting behind Voss in a movie theatre and watching her old movie. Lilo Pempeit (also Liselotte Eder), who plays the manager of a jewelry store, was Fassbinder's mother.
Günther Kaufmann Günther Kaufmann (16 June 1947 – 10 May 2012) was a German film actor best known for his association with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Fassbinder directed Kaufmann in a total of 14 films, casting him in leading and minor roles. Kaufman ...
, one of Fassbinder's former lovers, plays in all three films of the cycle. In this one he is an enigmatic African-American G.I. Juliane Lorenz, who's seen in the brief role of a secretary, was a close associate of Fassbinder and the editor of this film. Lorenz had spotted an article in ''
Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...
'' about Schmitz's legal troubles and brought it to Fassbinder's attention. She became the chief executive of Fassbinder's estate, the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation.


Music

Several American country music songs appear on the soundtrack throughout the film, including
Sanford Clark Sanford Clark (October 24, 1935 – July 4, 2021) was an American country music, country-rockabilly singer and guitarist, best known for his 1956 hit "The Fool (Sanford Clark song), The Fool". Biography Clark was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa ...
's version of Lee Hazlewood's "Run Boy Run";
Johnny Horton John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country, honky tonk, and rockabilly musician during the 1950s. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international ...
's " The Battle of New Orleans"; Tennessee Ernie Ford's " Sixteen Tons"; and Tommy Collins's "High on a Hilltop" performed by The Berlin Ramblers. Zech as Voss also performs a version of
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
's " Memories Are Made of This" in the manner of
Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
.


Reception and awards

The film was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...
.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
added the film to his Great Movies collection. In 2012, filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia included the film in his personal top ten (for The Sight & Sound Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time poll), writing: "Fassbinder's opiated take on ''
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
'', ''Veronika Voss'' makes
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...
's movie look like a children's special. Voss's drug overdose/suicide eerily foreshadows Fassbinder's own later that same year infusing deep tragedy and new meaning to the term 'a film about film'".


See also

* List of German language films * List of recent films in black-and-white


References


External links

*
Lost Film Comments: Review

''Sweet Death: Veronika Voss Production History''
an essay by Michael Töteberg at the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...
{{Authority control 1982 films 1982 drama films West German films German drama films 1980s German-language films German black-and-white films Films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films about psychiatry Films about adultery in Germany Films about drugs Films about race and ethnicity Golden Bear winners Films set in West Germany Films set in Munich Films set in 1955 Films à clef 1980s German films German-language drama films