Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss

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Veronika Voss

Directed by	Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Produced by	Thomas Schühly
Written by	Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Pea Fröhlich, Peter Märthesheimer
Starring	Rosel Zech, Hilmar Thate, Cornelia Froeboess
Release date(s)	1982
Running time	104 min.
Language	German
IMDb profile

Veronika Voss (German title: Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss) is a 1982 film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It is the second in his BRD Trilogy. The other films are The Marriage of Maria Braun (BRD 1) and Lola (BRD 3).

1 Plot
2 Main cast
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film is loosely based on the career of actress Sybille Schmitz and shows the influence of Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard. In this fictional version, Veronika Voss is a formerly popular UFA film star who, in 1955 Munich, is struggling to get roles. She meets a sports reporter named Robert Krohn and is impressed that he does not know who she is. The two begin a love affair, even though Robert already lives with his girlfriend Henriette, who nevertheless realizes that Veronika has an irresistible allure. Veronika’s behavior is erratic and sometimes desperate, and 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 opiates and uses her power to give or deny drugs 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 witnesses her making a phone call in the street outside the office. Dr. Katz then has Henriette killed and effectively 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 give her a fatal dose of pills. After Veronika’s death, Robert observes the villains celebrate their victory and is unable to do a thing.