Franz er kommet på sindssygehospital. Han havde svoret at leve anstændigt, men hvordan kan man det i denne verden uden at blive forrykt? Nu, da han ikke længere har ansvar for sit eget liv, kan han endelig drømme.
Franz Biberkopf ist in der Irrenanstalt. Hier übersetzt er seine Erfahrungen und Einsichten in eine andere Wirklichkeit. Seine Träume projizieren gleichzeitig Visionen des Regisseurs.
In a fantasy sequence, Franz walks along a street of the dead with two angels. He finds Mieze, but she disappears from his arms. Reinhold is in prison for the crimes committed by a man whose identity he has acquired. He is anguished that his cellmate and lover is being released. Franz is taken to an asylum. Much of the rest of the episode takes place in his imagination. Franz’s being run over by the car is re-enacted with different characters taking on the roles of victim and driver. In a striking sequence, Franz and Mieze are treated like animals being slaughtered in an abattoir. On a nativity set Franz is raised on a cross as the other characters watch. An atom bomb goes off in the background and the angels clear the dead. The surreal imagery ceases suddenly and Franz is at Reinhold’s trial testifying to his good character. Reinhold is given ten years for manslaughter. Eva tells Franz she has lost the baby. The film concludes with Franz as an assistant gatekeeper at a factory. He is alert to his job but not to what is going on in the world as war is on the horizon.
Франц морально сломлен, он то и дело попадает в царство теней, где ищет свою Мицци и встречает там всех, кого он знал в своей жизни. Такое поведение не оставляет сомнений: человек сошел с ума. Франца помещают в психиатрическую клинику, где он долго выздоравливает. После излечения его забирает к себе Эва, потом ему приходится выступить свидетелем на суде по обвинению Райнхольда в убийстве. Франц становится вахтером на небольшом заводе.
Franz est interné dans un asile d’aliénés. Les hauts et les bas de sa vie hantent ses rêves. A travers ces séquences oniriques, Fassbinder signe autant de variations autour du personnage du roman d’Alfred Döblin.
Une fois sorti de l’établissement psychiatrique, Franz est jugé et acquitté. Désormais, il gagne sa vie comme gardien d’usine.
