Despair (1978)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Vladimir Nabokov (novel)
Tom Stoppard (writer)

Release Date:

20 September 1978 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Based On Novel

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Dirk Bogarde	...	Hermann Hermann
Andréa Ferréol	...	Lydia Hermann
Klaus Löwitsch	...	Felix Weber
Volker Spengler	...	Ardalion
Peter Kern	...	Müller
Alexander Allerson	...	Mayer
Gottfried John	...	Perebrodov
Hark Bohm	...	Doctor
Bernhard Wicki	...	Orlovius
Adrian Hoven	...	Inspector Schelling
Roger Fritz	...	Inspector Braun
Y Sa Lo	...	Elsie
Armin Meier	...	1st and 2nd Twin and Foreman
Ingrid Caven	...	Hotel receptionist
Voli Geiler	...	Madam

Also Known As:

Despair (France)
Despair - Eine Reise ins Licht

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

West Germany | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany

Company:

Bavaria Atelier

Trivia:

Trevor Howard was asked to play a major role.

Worst Fassbinder I've ever seen.

This is one classic I was in no mood for at the time of watching it. In the right mood, I suppose even the most boring, confusing and pretentious films can appear lively and spirited.

Hermann is a Russian living in Germany with his completely idiotic Russian wife whose only talent is letting him bang her. Whereas even this right isnt exclusive since she is also carrying on with her red-headed bohemian slob of a cousin. Here is the weird part -Hermann keeps seeing himself everywhere, in particular watching he and his wife having sex. He mistakes this for out of body experiences, or split personality and does nothing to help himself out of it, instead entertaining and even encouraging it. Soon he begins to see his own face in other people. He befreinds a tramp who he believes is his look-alike and convinces him to be his body double to create an alibi while he is committing a crime. He dresses him up in his clothes, puts his papers in his pocket and gives him a shave -then he shoots and kills him. Hermann runs away with the understanding he has staged his own death. Obvious to everyone else is that it wasnt him at all, as his passport photo and the dead mans face don't even remotely resemble each other.

To be perfectly honest I tuned out of the dialogue after this point and only occasionally glanced at the screen. Despair was not improving, resulting in a complete waste of time. From what I saw it only gets weirder but perhaps with concentration it might begin to fall together. I like bizarre films, and even pretentious ones sometimes. Despair was just too damn over-dramatised or something. I just felt like the guy was digging his own grave and then constantly bitching about it like it was someone elses fault.

Yes, the acting was good, but sorry, the characters sucked.