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Despair (Despair - Eine Reise ins Licht)

Despair (Despair - Eine Reise ins Licht) (1978)

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

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70

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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 440

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Movie Info

Having made as many films as he had years, at 31, Rainer Werner Fassbinder essayed a slightly different approach for his 32nd film, Despair. Here, he uses a witty screenplay written by the well-known playwright Tom Stoppard, based on a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. Furthermore, the entire film, set in 1930s Germany, is in English. It received mixed reviews, if only because it is so unlike the director's other works. In the story, a Russian owner of a German chocolate-factory, whose business and

Unrated, 1 hr. 59 min.

Art House & International, Drama

Vladimir Nabokov, Tom Stoppard

Dec 30, 1988

Cast

Critic Reviews for Despair (Despair - Eine Reise ins Licht)

All Critics (14) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (4) | DVD (2)

The Stoppard script is a joy for anyone who likes the English language.

May 9, 2005 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Everything about Despair feels queasily off - the plot, the acting, the dialogue and the fussily over-decorated sets.

January 10, 2012 Full Review Source: Total Film | Comment
Philip Kemp
Total Film

A superb surrealist noir.

January 5, 2012 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | Comment
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

Not one of [Fassbinder's] best.

June 10, 2011 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Of the authorial trifecta that created Despair, director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's voice is the most pronounced.

June 7, 2011 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Simon Abrams
Slant Magazine

A lambent house of cards

February 4, 2010 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comment
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

It is beautifully photographed by Ballhaus in a frame filled with reflective glass and mirrors.

September 18, 2006 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Bold, garish and obsessive, but more than a little irritating.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment
Time Out Source: Time Out

Despair is a surreal version of a Vladimir Nabokov novel with a poised performance by Dirk Bogarde.

January 24, 2004 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | Comment
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

It suffers from obfuscation and from the fact that it is in English.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment
Film4 Source: Film4
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Despair (Despair - Eine Reise ins Licht)

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Personally, I think this is one of Bogarde's finest roles.

June 12, 2011
bookmunki
Stefanie C

Super Reviewer

WHY ISNT THIS AVAILABLE!?

December 30, 2010
Marc Brousseau
Marc Brousseau

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Foreign Titles

  • Despair (DE)
  • Despair (UK)
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