Ingeborg Bachmann – Reise in die Wüste: German feature film about the grueling love affair between Ingeborg Bachmann and Max Frisch.
Plot and background
In 1973, the Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann died under tragic circumstances. In 2023, on the 50th anniversary of her death, director Margarethe von Trotta dedicates “Ingeborg Bachmann – Reise in die Wüste” – to her life and her turbulent relationship with Max Frisch.
“Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the desert” – plot
1958: In Paris, poet Ingeborg Bachmann (Vicky Krieps) and writer Max Frisch (Ronald Zehrfeld) meet for the first time. Their admiration for each other is great, the relationship inevitable. Even at this point, however, Bachmann did not allow herself to be tied down to just one man. She cultivated affairs, but did not want to fall in love with them. This did her poetry good, and in the early 1960s she published her collection of stories “Das dreißigste Jahr” (“The Thirtieth Year”). His jealousy soon drove her mad.
When the relationship fell apart within five years, Ingeborg Bachmann had to pick up the pieces. She seeks help from a psychoanalyst and accepts the invitation of the younger Adolf Opel (Tobias Resch) to travel through the desert in Egypt. There she gains new courage to face life and can slowly close the chapter of Max Frisch before her life will be over already in 1973.
“Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey to the Desert” – background, cast, theatrical release
The writer Ingeborg Bachmann is considered one of the most important poets of the 20th century and still enjoys a role model function as a feminist today. On October 17, 1973, she died as a result of a fire and drug abuse at the age of 47.
Director Margarethe von Trotta (“Hannah Arendt”) dedicates “Ingeborg Bachmann – Reise in die Wüste” to her life, especially her relationship with Max Frisch, which towards the end had a rather destructive effect on her life.
Vicky Krieps (“Der seidene Faden”) slips into the leading role, Ronald Zehrfeld (“Barbara”) embodies the writer Max Frisch. Other roles are played by Tobias Resch (“Breaking The Ice”), Basil Eidenbenz (“The Favourite”) and Luna Wedler (“Dem Horizont so nah”).
Following its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale 2023, “Ingeborg Bachmann – Reise in die Wüste” will open regularly in German cinemas on October 19, 2023.
