Veronika Voss 1982

In 1955 Munich, a fading UFA film star, Veronika Voss, is depicted as neurotic and exhausted by the slipping grip of fame, rumored to have slept with Joseph Goebbels, yet now unable to secure meaningful roles. While riding the U-Bahn, she crosses paths with a curious sports reporter, Robert Krohn, who is surprised that he doesn’t recognize her, and this odd meeting sparks a tentative connection between two people from different worlds.

Their chance lunch together becomes the spark for a troubling attraction?Veronika is soon recognized again, this time in a jewelry shop by two older women who ask for her autograph and remark on the tragedy of her late husband’s World War II fate. The encounter underscores how her once-glittering life is now the subject of public memory and private decline. A secret affair develops, as [Robert Krohn] is drawn to Veronika’s undeniable allure, even though he remains entangled with his girlfriend, Henriette.

When Veronika asks to spend the night at Robert’s large country-like residence, the drama intensifies: he obliges, hoping for a respite from his own tangled life. But Veronika’s arrival is followed by a moment of waking terror—she finally awakens in a manic, confused state that startles him and hints at a deeper fragility beneath her glamorous surface. Her behavior sharpens into an alarming downward spiral, and her career continues to falter as younger actresses steal the spotlight she once dominated.

Seeing a story worth telling, Robert begins to craft a narrative about aging movie stars who vanish from the forefront and become public memory. He focuses on Veronika as a case study, but as he digs deeper, he uncovers a chilling truth: she is effectively held captive by a corrupt neurologist named Dr. Katz, who keeps Veronika addicted to morphine and wields control over her supply to drain her wealth. This revelation reframes Veronika’s downfall as a calculated manipulation rather than mere personal neglect.

To test his suspicions, Robert has Henriette approach Dr. Marianne Katz, posing as a wealthy client in need of psychiatric care. Katz prescribes an opiate for Henriette, but when she is observed making a call from a phone booth, Katz realizes the deception and orders Henriette’s murder. Veronika helps conceal the crime, and Robert arrives with the police to find a cover-up already in motion.

The narrative escalates to a tragic crescendo as Katz and her circle force Veronika to sign over everything she owns, then leave her to a lethal dose of pills. In the aftermath of Veronika’s death, Robert watches the villains celebrate their apparent victory, while he remains powerless to halt their triumph—the cruel end of a star’s life and the soulless machinery that consumed it.