The Merchant of Four Seasons (Händler der vier Jahreszeiten, W.Germany, 1972)

Hans holds court

It’s striking that this bleak, overtly stylised film should have been a commercial hit. Whilst Fassbinder draws upon Sirkian melodrama, no one would mistake this for a Hollywood film. Fassbinder had the talent to create an almost surrealist mise en scene from a banal setting. For example, Irmgard is framed against a shop [...]

Alice in the Cities (Alice in den Städten, West Germany, 1973)

Peter and Alice try to understand where they are going

This film is a terrific, improvised road movie. Wenders, apparently, based the idea of the film on the rapport between his actors (pictured above) in The Scarlet Letter (Der Scharlachrote Buchstabe 1973). This fits well with Stroszek (blogged three days ago) as here the movement is [...]

Stroszek (West Germany, 1977)

Stroszek tries to earn a living

Bruno S plays Stroszek and there are clearly autobiographical elements in the character; whilst he’s patently a non-actor this works well in the role but might be off-putting at first. He and two other misfits go to live the American Dream where everyone who works hard can get rich. Does [...]

Fear Eats the Soul (West Germany, 1974)

Possibly Fassbinder’s greatest movie; a remake of All That Heaven Allows. The ‘impossible love’ between old woman and immigrant worker, and the racism they have to contend with, is relevant now with the treatment of asylum seekers and immigrants. The ’70s decor and fashions certainly make it a decade to have avoided (unfortunately I remember [...]