Sheer Madness

Olga teaches literature at a university. Her husband Dieter is a known theatre director. Ruth is a painter. Her husband Franz is a peace researcher. Ruth is afraid of people. Holding on to life has not been easy for her. The two women meet at a mutual friend’s place in Provence. They meet again in Berlin. A friendship forms. It does both of them good. Their husbands are not pleased. Franz had built his position on protecting his wife, and Olga is expected to listen to Dieter’s troubles. Jealousy grows and settles over the friendship. Hanna Schygulla and Angela Winkler take the leads in the hundred and five minute film, a French and German production Margarethe von Trotta finished in 1983.