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In early 1930s Germany, against the backdrop of the Nazis’ rise, Hermann Hermann (Dirk Bogarde), a Russian emigrant and successful chocolate magnate, starts experiencing mental breakdowns. He soon meets Felix (Klaus Löwtisch), an unemployed laborer, whom Hermann believes to be his doppelganger. He hatches up an elaborate plot, which he believes will free him of all worries and nightmares. Based on Otchayanie by Vladimir Nabokov.
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Director: Rainer Werner Fassbender
Screenplay: Rainer Werner Fassbender
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, Klaus Löwtisch, Andréa Ferréol
Executive Producer: Edward R. Pressman
Distributor: New Line Cinema
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PRESS:
The Guardian review of re-release in a restored print by Peter Bradshaw, January 5, 2012
“A Second Look: ‘Despair’” by Dennis Lim, LA Times, June 12, 2011
AWARDS:
Won:
Best Direction (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) / German Film Awards, 1978
Best Cinematography (Michael Ballhaus), / German Film Awards, 1978
Best Production Design (Rolf Zehetbauer) / German Film Awards, 1978
Nominated:
Palme d’Or / Cannes Film Festival 1978
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