1982, West Germany
Original title: Der Fan
Eckhart Schmidt’s Der Fan (renamed Trance for both its obscure Canadian and UK video releases) remains one of the most chilling portrayals of female delusion I have ever witnessed onscreen.
More art film than exploitation film, Der Fan is a deliberately paced but fascinating study of fan-obsessiveness.
German television star Désirée Nosbusch (only 17 years old at the time) plays an alienated and uninvolved teenage girl whose only emotional attachment is to a new wave singing star known only as ‘R’ (played by Bodo Staiger of the real-life Krautrock band Rheingold, who also provide the soundtrack).
She feverishly writes him letters that go unanswered, and considers suicide an alternative if he doesn’t write back.
When she finally meets him and realizes that he does not fit the idealized version of him that exists in her head, she responds with shocking, violent behaviour.
hexafu 