Volker Schlöndorff - Die Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum (1975)

A night spent with a suspected terrorist is the catalyst for a smear campaign against the otherwise unimportant life of Katharina Blum. Katharina's life is thrown in the balance as both police and the news media strip her of all her dignity and sanity in this shocking German attack on power abuse and yellow journalism.

Cuando Katharina Blum pasa la noche con un presunto terrorista, su tranquila y ordenada vida queda completamente destruida. De repente sospechosa, Katharina se convierte en víctima de una cruel campaña difamatoria de la policía y un despiadado periodista sensacionalista, probando los límites de su dignidad y cordura. Una presión realmente insoportable.




The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum marks the directorial debut for actress Margarethe von Trotta, who co-directed the film with her then-husband Volker Schlöndorff. At a costume party, Katharina Blum (Angela Winkler) meets Ludwig Goetten (Jürgen Prochnow) and spends the night with him. The next morning, he's gone and the police bust into her apartment looking for him with the belief that he is a dangerous terrorist. She is taken into police custody and interrogated by Kommissar Beizmenne (Mario Adorf), who questions her about her every action. Meanwhile, sleazy reporter Werner Töetges (Dieter Laser) makes her story into a scandal in the papers by writing sensational stories about her personal life and portraying her as a criminal. He exaggerates the testimonies of her ex-husband, neighbors, and even her elderly mother who is dying of cancer in an intensive care hospital unit. With the fear-induced public thinking she is a Communist and terrorist sympathizer, Katharina receives hate mail and personal threats until she is finally driven over the edge.




In most cases, the timelessness of a film is a testament to its art and original vision. While that more than holds true for The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, it's also very sad to see how little we've progressed as far as press persecution in the three decades since this movie opened. Standing out in an excellent cast are Angela Winkler as the ill-fated young woman, deceptively brash on the outside while disintegrating slowly on the inside; Mario Adorf's brilliantly intimidating police commissioner, and Dieter Laser's all too true-to-life tabloid tyrant. Jost Vacano's documentary-flavored cinematography is exemplary (leading to future collaborations with fellow countryman Paul Verhoeven) with co-helms Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta effectively expressing the urgency of Blum's plight with a taut direction that doesn't resort to over-the-top theatrics.




Criterion Collection DVDRip by 3LM.
I translated the spanish subtitles.



Katharina (Angela Winkler), una mujer joven e inteligente, se enamora de Ludwig (Jürgen Prochnow) sin saber que se trata de un peligroso terrorista que es perseguido por la policía. El hombre logra escapar, pero la policía, encabezada por el inspector Beismenne (Mario Adorf), que tiene una gran presión y necesita demostrar sus avances en la lucha contra el terrorismo, comienza a vigilar a Katharina, que es obligada a declarar. La prensa sensacionalista , representada por el periodista Töetges (Dieter Laser) se aprovecha de este caso y de pronto Katharina aparece en la primera plana de los diarios del país. Su reacción ante estos hechos llevará a un trágico desenlace.

Volker Schlöndorff y Margarethe von Trotta adaptan de manera sublime la novela del Premio Nobel de Literatura Heinrich Böll, en una reflexión punzante sobre el estado de poder, la libertad individual y la manipulación de los medios de comunicación. Una crítica tan vigente hoy en día como en su estreno en 1975, que además crece y cobra relevancia con el paso del tiempo.



Subtítulos en español traducidos del inglés por un servidor.

Directed by: Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta
Script/Guión: Heinrich Böll (novel),Volker Schlöndorff
Music/Sonido: Hans Werner Henze
Cinematography/Fotografía: Jost Vacano
Cast/Reparto: Angela Winkler, Mario Adorf, Dieter Laser, Jürgen Prochnow