Die Verführerin Adele Spitzeder (2012)

When actress Adele Spitzeder arrives in Munich in 1865, her situation seems hopeless. She is completely penniless and borrows more and more money at ever higher interest rates just to survive. The spiral into absolute poverty keeps getting worse. But Adele does not give up. Instead, she promises the highest interest rates to everyone who invests their money in her newly founded Dachau Bank. Despite initial resistance, she manages to prevail, and more and more people invest their money with her. Adele’s success, and her reputation as a “banking lady,” attracts many envious detractors. Her attention-seeking, though also carefully staged, public appearances in particular earn her many critics. But she wins them over with flattery and donates a new tower to a church so that she will be praised in the sermon, hands out alms to the poor, and promptly buys a newspaper to silence her critics and ensure flattering articles are published. But Adele is still an actress, too, searching for artistic recognition. So she seeks the company of the young poet Balthasar Engel. But his admiration cannot be bought. He sees through her act. Outwardly, Adele presents herself as a God-fearing woman who is close to the common people, while secretly she is an unrestrained hedonist who indulges every desire. Yet because she remains aloof, she does not make friends with everyone. Indeed, her interest fraud seems about to be exposed. Adele has collected everyone’s money in order to pay some people’s interest with other people’s money. Having lived off other people’s money, she sees her Ponzi scheme collapse. Creditors, competitors, and the police join forces and finally arrest her.