GRADE: 10
Partially based on the life of Sybille Schmitz, who found fame under the Nazi regime, but whose career was destroyed afterward. Veronika Voss is a once prominent UFA actress, kept by her doctor, who raises suspicion in a sports journalist.
Original title: Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Country of Origin: Germany
THOUGHTS:
What amazes me about Fassbinder is not just that he made so many films in the course of his short life, but also how different they are from each other. Having seen several now, I’m impressed by the way in which his themes recur, while always feeling newly situated and fresh. Veronika Voss plays like a Sunset Blvd. for post-war Germany, with each fading former star—in this case not just from another era, but from an entirely different (and sinister) national mood. Stylistically, it may be my favorite of all the Fassbinder films I’ve seen.