Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder is one of the most revered German directors. This is the first of his films that I have seen. We meet Veronika Voss (Rosel Zech, AIMEE & JAGUAR), an aging Nazi era actress. One night she has a run in with sportswriter Robert Krohn (Hilmar Thate), who becomes instantly infatuated with her despite having a girlfriend named Henriette (Cornelia Froboess).
Krohn quickly learns that Veronika is not mentally stable and is under the care of Dr. Marianne Katz (Annemarie Duringer, TV’s BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ). As Krohn gets to know Veronika more, he discovers the dark secrets behind the fall of the actress. The film works as a character study, a mystery and a metaphor all at the same time.
It develops slowly and ends with a punch. The black and white cinematography is moody and expressive, using stark white scenes and more shadowy locales to mirror the ideas and emotions the film is dealing with.
This picture is the third in a loose trilogy known as the BRD (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) that includes THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN and LOLA. The series chronicles the history of postwar Germany. The film deals with issues of corruption, manipulation, forgetting one’s past and the fall from greatness. The story is straight-forward and drags toward the beginning, however the film’s visuals and style make up for some of the plot’s weaknesses. The film has piqued my interest in Fassbinder’s work, which has influenced filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
