Veronika Voss

Veronika Voss is a once-celebrated German film star now largely forgotten, kept afloat by morphine dispensed by a private doctor who has isolated her from the world. A sports journalist becomes fascinated by her and uncovers how the doctor exploits vulnerable patients, stripping them of money and will before discarding them, but he is unable to save Veronika from the dependency that has closed around her.

Shot in stark high-contrast black and white, the film is a study of addiction, decline, and the exploitation of a fragile psyche by someone trusted to care for it. It gives a therapist much to reflect on about dependency, the corruption of the caring relationship, and the wish to be looked after at any cost. It won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1982.