Despair – Eine Reise ins Licht (Despair)
Should Hermann (Dirk Bogarde) spend his life producing chocolate? An exiled Russian, he has an elegant apartment in Berlin, where he has been living for years. He drives a snazzy little car – a convertible. He is married to Lydia (Andrea Ferréol), a not-so-smart but devoted and absolutely desirable woman. The administration of his firm only keeps him busy a few hours a day. Business stagnates. Presumably a result of the global economic crisis that does not really upset Hermann. Recently, Hermann has the feeling that he could leave his body, step beside it and observe himself. One evening he leaves the living room door open so he, who sits in the living room, can observe how he and Lydia make love. This state of being becomes an addiction for him. He would love to perfect his ability to double himself, would like to bring it to an extreme and to refine it, like it was a creative gift. On a business trip, Hermann meets the tramp Felix (Klaus Löwitsch). He is convinced that Felix is identical to him in all his physical details and they agree to stay in touch by mail (general delivery). Although the existence of his double at first irritates Herman, it becomes a source of inspiration to him after he returns home. What would it be like if he could disappear in order to begin a new life as someone else? Herman plans the perfect and gratifying rebirth for which a tramp is to die – his journey towards light.
Weltvertrieb
Bavaria Media
Verleih (D)
Bavaria Media