Despair (1978)
Starring Dirk Bogarde, Andréa Ferréol, Klaus Löwitsch
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
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.
Runtime: 119 min.
Rating: 7.1
DVD
Languages: English
Countries: France,Germany
Genres: Drama
Keywords: chocolate,based on novel or book,insurance fraud,russian immigrant ,doppelgänger
Cast
Hermann Hermann
Lydia Hermann
Felix Weber
Ardalion
Müller
Perebrodov
Mayer
Orlovius
Inspektor Schelling
Doktor
Frau in Pension
Hotelangestellte
Silverman / Sergeant Brown / Foreman