''The Berlin Affair'' ( it, Interno Berlinese) is a
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
Italo-
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, directed by
Liliana Cavani
Liliana Cavani (born 12 January 1933, Carpi, Italy) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She belongs to a generation of Italian filmmakers from Emilia-Romagna that came into prominence in the 1970s, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Pa ...
and starring
Gudrun Landgrebe
Gudrun Landgrebe (; born 20 June 1950) is a German actress.
Landgrebe was born in Göttingen, grew up in Bochum, and attended theatre school in Cologne from 1968 until 1971. In 1971 she made her debut at Stadttheater Bielefeld. She also appea ...
,
Kevin McNally
Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
Early life
Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, att ...
and
Mio Takaki
is a Japanese actress and singer.
Life and career
She debuted as an actress in 1981 with ''Mōningu Mūn wa Sozatsu ni''. Her single ''Dansu wa Umaku Odorenai'', released in July 1982, was a hit, selling 800,000 copies.
References
External l ...
.
Set in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, 1938, it sees the wife of a rising
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
diplomat fall in love with Mitsuko Matsugae, the daughter of the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
and an artist. Her husband finds out, and moves to break up the affair. However he soon falls in love with Mitsuko himself, leading to the intervention of officials higher in the system. The film is based upon the novel ''
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid
A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a ...
'' by
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...
.
Plot
Berlin, Nazi Germany, late 1938: Louise von Hollendorf visits her former college literature professor to tell him about her recent life events. The rest of the film is told in flashback with occasional narration by Louise to the Professor.
Several months earlier during the spring season, Louise is married to Heinz, a German senior diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her husband's long work hours make her feel lonely. She decides to take drawing lessons at the institute of Fine Arts. At the institute, Louise meets a classmate named Mitsuko Matsugae, the young and alluring daughter of the Japanese ambassador. Captivated by Mitsuko's beauty, Louise asks her to model for her sketching practice. Rumor soon spreads at the institute that the two women are romantically engaged. Rather than driving them apart, the rumors bring the two friends closer together and soon they are engaged in a passionate love affair. As Louise confides to the Professor, "One moment we were laughing, the next, we were making love". They have their romantic encounters first at Louise's house and later at a seedy local hotel. After spending more and more time together, Louise falls in love with Mitsuko.
Heinz soon grows suspicious of the women's relationship. He not only becomes jealous but also worried that his wife's indiscretions might harm his political ambitions. Heinz confronts Louise about being unfaithful, who denies his allegation, even in the face of clear evidence.
One day, Louise discovers that Mitsuko has had an affair with Joseph Benno, their half-Italian drawing instructor. Louise learns about Mitsuko and Joseph's plan to marry and that the two have spread the lesbian rumors about Louise and Mitsuko to distract people from their own socially unacceptable, mixed-race relationship. Disgusted and disillusioned, Louise breaks away from Mitsuko and returns to her husband, confessing the full extent of what has happened. Heinz is upset, but forgives Louise for her infidelity.
Meanwhile, the Nazi regime starts to eliminate dissidents under the cloak of a morality campaign. Wolf von Hollendorf, Heinz's cousin and a high-ranking
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
officer, forces Louise and Heinz to participate in a plot, which uncovers General Werner von Heiden's homosexuality whereby they set a trap for von Heiden at their house by inviting him and (unbeknownst to von Heiden) his lover, a young handsome pianist. At the visit, Wolf exposes von Heiden's relationship, ruining the general's career and forcing him to flee both Berlin and Germany.
One month later, Mitsuko reappears in Louise's life, faking being ill and pregnant. Louise does not believe Mitsuko. Nevertheless, they rekindle their affair with even greater intensity. Joseph Benno, who still has a relationship with Mitsuko, promises Louise that he will not interfere with Louise's and Mitsuko's romance if Louise helps he and Mitsuko in getting married. Louise reluctantly agrees and signs a paper stating that. Benno then uses this written agreement to blackmail Heinz who, with Wolf's help, turns the tables on Benno and has him deported back to Italy.
Heinz is now determined to separate his wife from her Japanese female lover. The two women plan to scare Heinz to accept their relationship by faking an attempted suicide. The plan takes an unexpected turn when Mitsuko seduces Heinz in a ménage à trois. Caught in a love triangle, Louise, Mitsuko and Heinz grow more and more jealous of each other. Mitsuko, becoming more jealous and possessive, dominates Louise and Heinz. At a dinner, Mitsuko drugs the von Hollendorfs with sleeping pills to prevent them from having sex. Mitsuko uses the ruse to turn Heinz and Louise on each other. By now, their self-destructive relationship becomes publicly known to the Nazi regime as the exiled Benno gets his account published in a Berlin newspaper. To avoid a scandal, Heinz is asked to resign from his post and leave Berlin. Wolf temporarily withdraws their passports to prevent Louise, Heinz and Mitsuko from leaving the country.
Louise, Heinz and Mitsuko hide out in the seedy hotel room to debate their options. However, rather than leave each other, all three drink poison prepared by Mitsuko in a ceremonial rite of suicide and lay down in the room's bed holding onto each other. Some time later, upon awakening and to her bewilderment, Louise discovers that both Heinz and Mitsuko are dead, revealing that she was given a sedative by Mitsuko instead of poison.
At first, Louise thought that by being left behind she was betrayed by both her lovers. However, in the final scene, while finishing her narrative to her Professor, Louise thinks that maybe Mitsuko did so out of loyalty, to spare Louise's life. The Professor urges Louise to write and publish her story, and also passes on his final manuscript to her for safekeeping. Minutes later, he is arrested and taken away by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
, leaving behind Louise, now alone, who has to decide all by herself how she will go on with her life.
Cast
*
Gudrun Landgrebe
Gudrun Landgrebe (; born 20 June 1950) is a German actress.
Landgrebe was born in Göttingen, grew up in Bochum, and attended theatre school in Cologne from 1968 until 1971. In 1971 she made her debut at Stadttheater Bielefeld. She also appea ...
as Louise von Hollendorf
*
Kevin McNally
Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
Early life
Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, att ...
as Heinz von Hollendorf
*
Mio Takaki
is a Japanese actress and singer.
Life and career
She debuted as an actress in 1981 with ''Mōningu Mūn wa Sozatsu ni''. Her single ''Dansu wa Umaku Odorenai'', released in July 1982, was a hit, selling 800,000 copies.
References
External l ...
as Mitsuko Matsugae
*
Hanns Zischler
Hanns Zischler (born 18 June 1947) is a German actor known for his portrayal of Hans in Steven Spielberg's film ''Munich''. According to the Internet Movie Database, Zischler has appeared in 171 movies since 1968.
He is known in Sweden for his r ...
as Wolf von Hollendorf
*
Andrea Prodan
Andrea Prodan (born 16 November 1961) is an Italian-Argentinian film actor, composer and musician. He is the younger brother of rock star Luca Prodan, notable for his musical career in Argentina, leading the rock band Sumo.
Biography
The Prod ...
as Joseph Benno
*
Massimo Girotti
Massimo Girotti (18 May 1918 – 5 January 2003) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades.
Born in Mogliano, in the province of Macerata, Girotti developed his athletic physique by swimming and playing polo. While studying eng ...
as Werner von Heiden
*
Pieter Daniel as Edmund Meyer
*
William Berger as Professor
*
John Steiner
John Steiner (7 January 1941 – 31 July 2022) was an English actor. Tall, thin and gaunt, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed on-stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but was best known to audiences for his roles i ...
as Oskar Engelhart
*
Edward Farrelly
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...
as Bernard
*
Philippe Leroy as Herbert Gessler
*
Claudio Lorimer as Otto Bhuler
Production
The original title of the film, ''Interno Berlinese'', can be translated as Inside Berlin or Interior Berliner. The story is based upon
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...
's novel ''
Quicksand
Quicksand is a colloid
A colloid is a mixture in which one substance consisting of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance. Some definitions specify that the particles must be dispersed in a ...
'', or ''Manji'', published serial from 1928 to 1930. Cavani was drawn to the novel because of its dramatic intensity and extreme economy, his capacity to bring us, as nearly breathless spectators, inside the meaning of seemingly insignificant details.
[Marrone, ''The Gaze and the Labyrinth'', p. 237] ''Manji'' was published as a serial novel in a literary magazine between 1928 and 1930. Sonoko, the first-person narrator, recounts her own story to a prominent writer as a long monologue that continues the novel itself.
It is the story of a passionate love affair with Mitsuko that eventually involves her husband and Watanuki, an impotent effeminate dandy. Mitsuki was actually the name of Tanizaki's third wife. She inspired several of his novels. Cavani brought the story forward in time and set the plot in Germany in 1938.
''The Berlin Affair'' was the first film produced by
Menahem Golan
Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon sp ...
and
Yoram Globus
Yoram Globus ( he, יורם גלובוס; born 7 September 1943) is an Israeli–American film producer, cinema owner, and distributor. He has been involved in over 300 full-length motion pictures and he is most known for his association with ...
in Italy for Cannon. It was shot in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
at the Paolis Studios and
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
from April to July 1985. Gudrun Landgrabe, one of the discoveries of the
New German Cinema
New German Cinema (german: Neuer Deutscher Film) is a period in German cinema which lasted from 1962 to 1982, in which a new generation of directors emerged who, working with low budgets, and influenced by the French New Wave and Italian Neorea ...
, had appeared in
Robert van Ackeren
Robert van Ackeren (born 22 December 1946) is a German movie director, actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern ...
's ''
A Woman in Flames
''A Woman in Flames'' (Die flambierte Frau, literally "The Flambéed Woman") is a German Drama (film and television), drama film from 1983, directed by Robert van Ackeren, starring Gudrun Landgrebe, Mathieu Carrière, and Hanns Zischler. The film ...
'' 1982,
Edgar Reitz
Edgar Reitz (born 1 November 1932) is a German filmmaker and Professor of Film at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung (State University of Design) in Karlsruhe. He is best-known for his internationally acclaimed '' Heimat film series'' (1 ...
’s ''
Heimat
''Heimat'' () is a German word
translating to 'home' or 'homeland'.
The word has connotations specific to German culture, German society and specifically German Romanticism, German nationalism, German statehood and regionalism so that it ha ...
'' 1984, and
István Szabó
István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director.
Szabó is one of the most notable Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian-speaking world since the la ...
’s ''
Colonel Redl
''Colonel Redl'' (german: Oberst Redl (original title); hu, Redl ezredes) is a 1985 biographical drama film by Hungarian director István Szabó. The plot, set in the period before World War I, follows the rise of Alfred Redl, an officer in the ...
'' 1985.
[Marrone, ''The Gaze and the Labyrinth'', p. 238] Kevin McNally, a British actor, plays the husband. Casting the role of Mitzuko was challenging. Cavani went to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
looking for a model of beauty that could balance seductiveness with an iron will. She found it in the 24-year-old actress and pop singer Mio Takaki.
Release
It was entered into the
36th Berlin International Film Festival
The 36th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held 14–25 February 1986. The festival opened with ''Ginger and Fred'' by Federico Fellini, which played out of competition at the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to West German film ...
.
''The Berlin Affair '' is available in Region 2 DVD. It has not been released on DVD in the U.S.A.
See also
*
List of Italian films of 1985
A list of films produced in Italy in 1985 (see 1985 in film):
References Footnotes
Sources
*
External linksItalian films of 1985at the Internet Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Films Of 1985
1985
The year 1985 was de ...
Notes
References
*
External links
*
Filmografia di Liliana Cavani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin Affair
1985 films
1985 drama films
1985 LGBT-related films
Italian drama films
Italian LGBT-related films
West German films
1980s Italian-language films
Films directed by Liliana Cavani
Films scored by Pino Donaggio
Films based on works by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Films based on Japanese novels
Lesbian-related films
Films about artists
Films about Nazi Germany
Films set in Berlin
Films set in 1938
Films shot in Rome
Films shot in Vienna
Golan-Globus films
Films produced by Menahem Golan
Films produced by Yoram Globus
1980s Italian films