Fassbinder films life in the cosseted class as a masque of glass and mirrors, replete with alluring deceptions and suave surfaces that belie volcanic passions.
Despair
A hysterical comedy
1978 · 1h 57m · N/A
Drama, Thriller
Directed by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
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Despair
Overview
Berlin, 1930, during the rise of Nazism. Hermann Hermann, a Russian emigrant and chocolate manufacturer, married to the capricious Lydia, loses his temper more and more every day when dealing with his workers and other businessmen; until he meets Felix, a vagrant, who seems to be physically identical to him; a disconcerting fact that leads Hermann Hermann to plot a particular way out of a fake world he actually hates.
Director and cast
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder Director
- Dirk Bogarde as Hermann Hermann
- Andréa Ferréol as Lydia Hermann
- Klaus Löwitsch as Felix Weber
- Volker Spengler as Ardalion
- Bernhard Wicki as Orlovius
- Armin Meier as Silverman / Sergeant Brown / Foreman
- Peter Kern as Müller
- Adrian Hoven as Inspector Schelling
- Alexander Allerson as Mayer
- Hark Bohm as Doctor
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
The Stoppard script is a joy for anyone who likes the English language.
Bold, garish and obsessive, but more than a little irritating.
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