"Veronika Voss" is set in the mid-1950s and is partially based on German actress Sybille Schmitz, a prominent performer during the Nazi years, though she herself was not a Nazi. She committed suicide in 1955 after failing to get much film work after the war.
The main character, Veronika Voss (Rosel Zech), is an aging actress (in her 40s!) whose prominent days are behind her. She is addicted to drugs provided to her by a corrupt doctor, Marianne Katz (Annemarie Düringer), whose practice is to steal property from addicted patients who rely on her for drugs helpfully smuggled by an unnamed U. S. army officer (Günther Kaufmann). Veronika dreams of getting major roles again, but when she does get a two-day shoot in a bit part, she is unable to perform.
One night when Veronika is caught in a rainstorm, she is helped by an "everyman" who happens to be a sports reporter. Robert (Hilmar Thate) already has a live-in girlfriend, Henriette (Cornelia Froboess), but their relationship is stale. He is intrigued by Veronika and is willingly seduced by her. He becomes aware of her addiction and her unstable personality, but is drawn to her and wants to "save" her.
Henriette agrees to help trap corrupt Dr. Katz by posing as a rich divorcee seeking drugs to help with her "pain." She succeeds in getting a prescription from Dr. Katz but is caught trying to phone this information to Robert and is murdered in a set-up traffic accident. Robert brings the police, but Dr. Katz has put an innocuous prescription in Henriette's purse and nothing is done.
Dr. Katz decides Veronika is now too much of a problem and decides to leave her alone without any morphine, but with multiple bottles of sleeping pills. Veronika dies as expected. The last scene shows Robert seeing Dr. Katz and her collaborators celebrating in Veronika's former home.
Needless to say, this movie didn't have a lot of laughs. It was shot in black-and-white, which fit the story very well. As in "Maria Braun" the U. S. military stationed in post-war Germany had a significant presence in the film. Throughout the movie, there was frequently either a radio playing in the background talking about the German politics of the day, or American country music playing on an English-language station.
The filming and the acting are very high quality. Hilmar Thate, who plays the role of Robert, plays the bland "everyman" very well; he was an East German actor who arrived in West Germany only a year before this film was made.
The main character, Veronika Voss (Rosel Zech), is an aging actress (in her 40s!) whose prominent days are behind her. She is addicted to drugs provided to her by a corrupt doctor, Marianne Katz (Annemarie Düringer), whose practice is to steal property from addicted patients who rely on her for drugs helpfully smuggled by an unnamed U. S. army officer (Günther Kaufmann). Veronika dreams of getting major roles again, but when she does get a two-day shoot in a bit part, she is unable to perform.
One night when Veronika is caught in a rainstorm, she is helped by an "everyman" who happens to be a sports reporter. Robert (Hilmar Thate) already has a live-in girlfriend, Henriette (Cornelia Froboess), but their relationship is stale. He is intrigued by Veronika and is willingly seduced by her. He becomes aware of her addiction and her unstable personality, but is drawn to her and wants to "save" her.
Henriette agrees to help trap corrupt Dr. Katz by posing as a rich divorcee seeking drugs to help with her "pain." She succeeds in getting a prescription from Dr. Katz but is caught trying to phone this information to Robert and is murdered in a set-up traffic accident. Robert brings the police, but Dr. Katz has put an innocuous prescription in Henriette's purse and nothing is done.
Dr. Katz decides Veronika is now too much of a problem and decides to leave her alone without any morphine, but with multiple bottles of sleeping pills. Veronika dies as expected. The last scene shows Robert seeing Dr. Katz and her collaborators celebrating in Veronika's former home.
Needless to say, this movie didn't have a lot of laughs. It was shot in black-and-white, which fit the story very well. As in "Maria Braun" the U. S. military stationed in post-war Germany had a significant presence in the film. Throughout the movie, there was frequently either a radio playing in the background talking about the German politics of the day, or American country music playing on an English-language station.
The filming and the acting are very high quality. Hilmar Thate, who plays the role of Robert, plays the bland "everyman" very well; he was an East German actor who arrived in West Germany only a year before this film was made.