The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

Rating:
Summary: Fassbinder at his best...
Review: Perhaps the best Fassbinder ever. It is slow, yes, but never annoying as the review says. The dialogues are so beautiful, and as every word is important it couldn't be faster. The actresses are all perfect, specially Irm Herrmann in her silent role. And the ending is simply astonishing. I have seen this movie dozens of times (really) and it is one of my favourite films of all times.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent DVD also incl. both Fassbinder short films
Review: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), one of Fassbinder's masterpieces, explores the tortured connections between desire and power. Not only is the DVD of exceptional quality, it includes both of Fassbinder's fascinating short films ("The City Tramp" and "The Little Chaos") plus a revealing documentary.

Although Bitter Tears remains one of Fassbinder's most controversial films - in part for its severely limited depiction of women's lives - it is also one of his most powerful. Fortunately, the range of lesbian-themed films in the past thirty years has presented women's experiences in considerably more diversity and fullness, so perhaps now we can better evaluate the film's considerable merits.

Fassbinder's casts are always uniformly strong, but this one is extraordinary, especially Margit Carstensen in the title role (she won several awards), Hanna Schygulla (with whom Fassbinder made 20 pictures) as her new lover Karin Thimm, and Irm Herrman as Petra's mysterious assistant Marlene who, without uttering one word, at times dominates with her sheer presence.

The film is astonishing for its interweaving of raw emotion with stunning and meticulous design. Fassbinder and director of photography Michael Ballhaus (who shot about half of the director's films, and now does all of Scorsese's pictures) wrest every bit of visual interest from the single claustrophobic set (we never leave this one apartment). The endlessly inventive deep focus compositions provide a series of emotionally penetrating, and technically virtuosic, comments on the action - ironic, allusive, symbolic, and visually gorgeous. The only picture which approaches this level of achievement - in making limited physical space utterly compelling as cinema - is Cocteau's Les Parents Terribles (1948), but he had all of two sets!

Fassbinder also makes acerbic use of every carefully placed object in the lavish apartment. Most notable is a gigantic blowup of Poussin's painting "Midas and Bacchus," which reminds us that Petra - like Midas, whose life was blasted by the "golden touch" - should be careful what she wishes for. The nude Bacchus stands in the center of the mural - and not infrequently Fassbinder's compositions - with the body of, well, a Greek god, a larger-than-life male in a film peopled entirely with women. Some critics argue that this overbearing backdrop represents the patriarchal system which underlies, and perhaps even dooms, the relationship of Petra and Karin. Fassbinder includes many other witty, even playful, elements throughout the film, both to give it greater resonance, and to keep it from descending into bathos. For instance, dramatic form has rarely been so drolly encapsulated as when Petra changes into a new wig - "symbolically" indicating her emotional state - in each of the film's five scenes (each unfolds in continuous time).

Although it would be unfair to reveal the ending, a tentatively optimistic reading may be possible: For one character it revolves around a newfound self-respect, for another because she has, for the first time, genuinely reached out to someone else. The film is so rich, on so many levels, that you may find yourself seeing it differently on each viewing. Few works so creatively, and powerfully, manage to subvert our desire for cathartic drama while simultaneously fulfilling it.

FASSBINDER'S SHORT FILMS ARE ALSO INCLUDED on this DVD. Both were made in 1966, when he was 19. "The City Tramp," about a homeless man who finds a gun, is a work of extraordinary, stark visual design and intriguing commentative sound (street noise juxtaposed with classical music juxtaposed with silence). It boasts excellent performances, with Fassbinder raising it far above the level of a "vanity piece" for financial backer cum star Christoph Roser. It also introduces several of the filmmaker's recurring themes, including alienation, the role of the outsider, exploitation, and violence, while its sporadic playfulness highlights another vital, and fun, aspect of his work. "The Little Chaos" is about three friends who use their knowledge of American crime movies (and Godard's 1964 film Band of Outsiders) to rob a woman. Although not as visually striking or emotionally rich as "City Tramp," it features first-rate performances and has a refreshing exuberance. The DVD also includes "Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1977," an engrossing half-hour documentary.

Rating:
Summary: The bitter loneliness!
Review: The film is based in the theatrical work of the same name of Rainer Werner Fassbinder . the only stage of the action is the workshop dwelling of the protagonist , the fashion designer Petra von Kant a refined and eccentric woman divorced twice who lives with her secretary-slave Marlene. But that selfish human beingsuddenly will fall in love with Karim, ayoung beauty of modest origin who enjoys the luxury offered by Petra without serious commitment respect her lover . That happiness period will break when Karim decides to reconciliate with her husband . Petra , obviously is very distured and she rebuilds many aspects of her past behavior , but when she proposes Marlene a participation in the business , Marlene leaves home .
This was one the creative peaks in the career of this indefatigable creator of human portraits . Somehow Petra is a mirror image of him in those times . But far beyond the anecdotic aspect ,the film is a merciless story about the loneliness and hopeless gaze of the female world . Personally I do not know about another film maker in the story of the cinema who deals with these themes with such fineness and deepness . He never will take a previous attitude ; he drowns in these troubled waters and suffers with them their triumphs and calamities . He is the legitimate son of Douglas Sirk with a major scope , indeed .
Since his early death in 1982 , when he just was in his thirties (36) , the creative world of the german cinema still remains inciomplete . You may name Percy Aldon , Herzog , Wenders , Kluge and Hauff but something lost in the environment , due the prodigious and outstanding mind of Fassbinder is absent .


Rating:
Summary: Savage, sentimental Fassbinder.
Review: This is an astonishing remake of 'All About Eve', the aging mentor well and truly dumped by her young protege, that film's lesbian subtext brought painfully to the fore. To concentrate on the remarkable performances and tortuous dialogue would be to get only half the film. In this closing down (rather than opening up) of an original play, it is the decor and Fassbinder's framing that counts, adding layer upon layer of irony, meaning, mockery, imprisonment and poignant emotion onto the ghastly claustrophobic farce. It's hard to remain straight-faced at such anguish with eloquent mannequins lying about, and a giant wall mural-painting dictating every 'human' pose.

Rating:
Summary: One of Fassbinder's Best
Review: This one's a hoot! And it can be viewed on so many levels. The silent character represents the audience, it seems. And this film really covers the stages of romantic relationships: the first meeting, the first night together, the jealousy, the break-up, and of course, the anxiety that follows in the hopes that it could start again. The dialogue is incredible! The costumes are hilarious, but true to the era. And this film should be bringing more film students and film buffs into Fasbinder's world for years to come.