The 71-year-old director told the German Press Agency that artificial intelligence could make loneliness easier to bear. Her ideal robot would discuss politics with her, read Russian and French classics—including works by Émile Zola—and play the board game Go.
Dörrie explores the idea in her tragicomedy “Frau Winkler verlässt das Haus.” Angela Winkler plays a former actress who receives a care robot from her daughter, played by Laura Tonke. The character is delighted to discover that the AI can recite theatre pieces. The film is scheduled to open in cinemas on October 1.
Dörrie says the film also aims to address fears surrounding old age. She criticizes pressure to ward off wrinkles, illness and death, pointing to Botox use and the “longevity” trend of exercises and supplements promoted as ways to prevent ageing.
For her own final days, Dörrie hopes for a dignified, accompanied and largely pain-free death. She also says there are too few palliative-care beds and hospices, and too little funding for care. Support for people providing care at home is especially inadequate, she says, and that work is often assigned to women.