The Berlin Affair (Leidenschaften - The Berlin Affair) 38 years old

Two women, a man and a madness

The Berlin Affair

In 1938 Berlin, Gudrun Landgrebe, wife of Nazi functionary Kevin McNally, begins taking art lessons. She makes the acquaintance of another student, Japanese ambassador's daughter Mio Takaki. Soon afterwards, the two women begin a passionate lesbian affair. This leads to a chain reaction of disaster and tragedy, culminating with the inevitable intervention of the Gestapo. Despite the film's galloping sexual passions, The Berlin Affair is an exercise in aloofness, keeping the characters at arm's length-surprising, considering that the director was Liliana Cavani, auteur of the erotic classic The Night Porter (1974). The film was based on The Buddhist Cross, a novel by Junichiro Tanizaki.

Credits

The Berlin Affair Cast

Name Character
Kevin McNally He was 29, now 68 years old as Heinz von Hollendorf
John Steiner He was 44, now 83 years old as Oskar Engelhart
Philippe Leroy He was 54, 88 years old when he died as Herbert Gessler
Gudrun Landgrebe She was 35, now 73 years old as Louise von Hollendorf
Massimo Girotti He was 67, 84 years old when he died as Werner von Heiden
Mio Takaki She was 25, now 64 years old as Mitsuko Matsugae
Hanns Zischler He was 38, now 76 years old as Wolf von Hollendorf
Andrea Prodan He was 23, now 62 years old as Joseph Benno
William Berger He was 57, 65 years old when he died

The Berlin Affair Crew

Name Department
Liliana Cavani as Director. She was 52 (now 91) years old Directing
Liliana Cavani as Writer. She was 52 (now 91) years old Writing
Yoram Globus as Producer. He was 43 (now 82) years old Production
Roberta Mazzoni as Writer. She was 34 (now 72) years old Writing
The Berlin Affair poster
The Berlin Affair (38 years)

Two women, a man and a madness

  • Release day: Thursday, October 03, 1985
  • Runtime: 95 minutes