Despair (1978)

Synopsis

Germany in the early 1930s. Against the backdrop of the Nazis' rise, Hermann Hermann, a Russian émigré and chocolate magnate, goes slowly mad.

It begins with his seating himself in a chair to observe himself making love to his wife, Lydia, a zaftig empty-headed siren who is also sleeping with her cousin.

Hermann is soon given to intemperate outbursts at his workers, other businessmen, and strangers. Then, he meets Felix, an itinerant laborer, whom he delusionally believes looks exactly like himself.



Armed with a new life insurance policy, he hatches an elaborate plot in the belief it will free him of all his worries.

Cast:  Dirk Bogarde, Andréa Ferréol, Klaus Löwitsch, Volker Spengler, Bernhard Wicki, Gottfried John, Peter Kern, Alexander Allerson, Adrian Hoven, Roger Fritz, Y Sa Lo, Ingrid Caven, Armin Meier, Isolde Barth, Harry Baer

Cannes (In Competition), New York

It was Fassbinder's first English-language film and was entered into the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.

Similarly to the novel, the tone of the film is ironic. The plot is mostly similar to the novel, although one of the key characters is significantly altered in the adaptation. --Wiki

Read about this film

Country: Germany | France
Language: English
Color: Color
Runtime: 119 min.