''No Mercy, No Future'' (german: Die Berührte , ''"The Touched"'') is a

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Helma Sanders-Brahms Helma Sanders-Brahms (20 November 1940 – 27 May 2014) was a German film director, screenwriter and producer. Biography Helma Sanders was born on 20 November 1940 in Emden, Germany. She attended a school for acting in Hannover from 1960 to 1 ...

Plot

Veronika Christoph, the troubled daughter of uncaring bourgeois parents, has been institutionalized due to her

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. Without proper psychiatric treatment for her unearthly visions, she prowls the streets along the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

at night in search of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

, yet settles for the company of strange, exiled men.

Cast

* Elisabeth Stepanek as Veronika Christoph *Jorge Reis as Demba *Curt Curtini as Magician *Hasan Hasan as Monsef *Carola Regnier as Physician *Hubertus von Weyrauch as Veronika's Father *Irmgard Mellinger as Veronika's Mother *Nguyen Chi Danh as Patient *Erich Koltschack as Old Man *George Stamkoski as Greek Man *Karl Heinz Reimann as

's Son *Abdel Wahed Askar as Ibrahim *Nabil Reiroumi as Salem *Harald Hoedt as Patient *

Erika Dannhoff Erika Dannhoff (2 December 1909 – 18 June 1996) was a German actress. She played the female lead in the 1935 mountain film ''Demon of the Himalayas''. Selected filmography * ''The Model from Montparnasse'' (1929) * ''The Man with the Frog'' (1 ...

as Countess *Günther Ehlert as Death

Release

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Facets Multi-Media Facets Multi-Media founded in 1975, is a non-profit, 501(C)3 organization, and a leading national media arts organization. Its mission is to preserve, present, distribute, and educate about film. Besides its facilities at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Ch ...

in 2008.

Reception

Thomas Elsaesser Thomas Elsaesser (22 June 1943 – 4 December 2019) was a German film historian and professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He was also the writer and director of ''The Sun Island'', a documentary essay film abou ...

, author of ''European Cinema: Face to Face with Hollywood'', wrote that ''No Mercy, No Future'' was a "relative" failure in the commercial and critical aspects compared to ''

Germany, Pale Mother ''Germany, Pale Mother'' (german: Deutschland bleiche Mutter) is a 1980 West German drama film written and directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms. It was shown at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival in 1980, where it was nominated for a Golden B ...

'' and that the situation "may have led Sanders-Brahms in the direction of the European art cinema." London's '' Time Out'' has referred to the film's performances as faultless and it was screened at the 1982

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

and won the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Sutherland Trophy The Sutherland Trophy was created in 1958 by the British Film Institute as an annual award for "the maker of the most original and imaginative film introduced at the National Film Theatre during the year". History In 1997, the criteria changed to ...

Award for 1981. Critic Michael Atkinson praised the film as a "classic, show-it-all acting coup that doesn’t wriggle free of your memory very easily."

References

External links

* * *
''No Mercy, No Future''
at the

TCM Movie Database Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

''Die Berührte''
at Film Portal {{Sutherland Trophy 1980s avant-garde and experimental films 1981 drama films 1981 films Fictional portrayals of schizophrenia Films about religion Films directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms Films set in Berlin Films set in psychiatric hospitals German avant-garde and experimental films German drama films 1980s German-language films West German films 1980s German films