Film archive, 1979

Ticket of No Return

Bildnis einer Trinkerin

Director Ulrike Ottinger

1Festival entries

★Avg. rating

She, a woman of exquisite beauty, of classical dignity and harmonious Raphaelesque proportions.She purchased a ticket of no return to Berlin-Tegel. She wanted to forget her past. She wanted to concentrate all her energies on one thing, something all her own. To follow her own destiny at last was her only desire. Berlin, a city in which she was a complete stranger, seemed just the place to indulge her passion undisturbed. Her passion was alcohol, she lived to drink and drank to live, the life of a drunkard. "The most beautiful German film," according to R. W. Fassbinder.

Stills5

Ticket of No Return 1 — Bildnis einer Trinkerin, Photo: Ulrike Ottinger © Ulrike Ottinger

Ticket of No Return 2 — Bildnis einer Trinkerin, Photo: Ulrike Ottinger © Ulrike Ottinger

Ticket of No Return 3 — Bildnis einer Trinkerin, Photo: Ulrike Ottinger © Ulrike Ottinger

Ticket of No Return 4 — Bildnis einer Trinkerin, Photo: Ulrike Ottinger © Ulrike Ottinger

Ticket of No Return 5 — Bildnis einer Trinkerin, Photo: Ulrike Ottinger © Ulrike Ottinger

Film details

Director: Ulrike Ottinger
Country/Region: Germany
Year: 1979
Length: 107min
Original language: German
Elsewhere: Letterboxd IMDb Wikidata TMDB Douban

Director

Ulrike Ottinger

Born in Konstanz, southern Germany, on June 6, 1942. From 1962 to 1969, Ottinger worked as an artist in Paris. After returning to West Germany, she made her first film, Laocoön and His Sons (1975). In 2020, she received the Berlinale Camera for lifetime achievement at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2021 and 2022, major retrospectives and symposia dedicated to her work were held across Europe.

From Tokyo International Film Festival 2026, No. 39

Credits

Director: Ulrike Ottinger
Screenplay: Ulrike Ottinger
Cinematography: Ulrike Ottinger
Art direction: Ulrike Ottinger, Raul Gimenez
Narrator: Ulrike Ottinger
Producer: Marianne Gassner
Assistant director: Ila von Hasperg
Assistant Cinematographer: Amadou Seitz
Lighting: Manfred Bogdahn
Music: Peer Raben
Costume: Tabea Blumenschein
Cast: Tabea Blumenschein, Lutze, Magdalena Montezuma, Orpha Termin, Monika von Cube
Distributor in Japan: punkte

Festival appearances1

Choose a festival entry to see its screenings, articles and audience reviews.

Ticket of No ReturnTokyo International Film Festival 2026, No. 39World Focus: Tribute to Ulrike Ottinger

Festival history1

东京国际电影节, 2026World Focus: Tribute to Ulrike Ottinger, Official selection

Film posters

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