Rainer Werner Fassbinder started to get some notoriety with this film and it's a film version of one of his own plays. This story strongly represents Fassbinder's own bitterness towards love and relationships. This film takes place in the apartment of Petra von Kant (Margit Carstensen) who is a fashion designer and she spends her days verbally berating her mute secretary/slave Marlene (Irm Hermann). Petra is a lesbian and divorced with a daughter in boarding school and one day Petra's friend Sidonie (Katrin Schaake) mentions that an acquaintance is stopping over. Sidonie's friend turns out to be Karin (Hanna Schygulla) and she has just gotten back to Germany after spending some time out of the country. Petra offers her the opportunity to be a model and she agrees to be schooled by her. Soon Petra is deeply attracted to her and asks Karin to move in which she does. After time passes Petra finds out that Karin still sleeps with men from time to time and then Karin's husband calls and asks her to come stay with him. Karin says yes and asks for money for her trip. Petra gives it to her but is deeply hurt and starts drinking heavily and becomes very depressed. She lashes out at everyone around her and it takes some time for her to function again.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Some critics of this film say that its just too talky and that its just another bad filming of a stage play. But there are other things going on when you watch this film and the cinematography is exceptional. The cinematographer is the great Michael Ballhaus who worked on about 15 productions with Fassbinder. The use of color is very evident in this film even though it takes place in a rather modest apartment setting. The color of red is used effectively when the actors are wearing primarily white and the background usually has large pictures hanging on the walls to give it some interesting depth. Fassbinder has a solid background in theater and when he made films he could work as both director and set designer. It's a striking film to look at and Fassbinder always had a strong view of how his productions should look. The performances are all solid and Carstensen is very strong in the title role. One of the more interesting parts in this film is by Hermann as Marlene. She never speaks in the film and its not known for sure if she's a mute or not. She's basically Petra's slave and it's suggested that they're relationship is founded on Petra's domination of her. At the end of the film Petra tells Marlene that she is giving her freedom. Marlene responds by packing her bag and leaving Petra for what we think is for good. They're relationship was about possession and when that has ended then it's over for them. This basically was what Fassbinder wanted to show everyone and he has always been fascinated by human emotions in dire situations. Petra wanted to possess Karin but she fooled her from the start. She used her and left her without any remorse at all. This film also gives viewers a look at a very young Eva Mattes who plays Petra's daughter Gabriele. Mattes would become a very well known German actress and is probably best known for her work in a couple of Werner Herzog films. This is certainly not Fassbinder's best film but it is a fascinating character study with some very colorful visuals. Fassbinder was one of cinema's greatest directors and this early effort is interesting to watch from start to finish.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Some critics of this film say that its just too talky and that its just another bad filming of a stage play. But there are other things going on when you watch this film and the cinematography is exceptional. The cinematographer is the great Michael Ballhaus who worked on about 15 productions with Fassbinder. The use of color is very evident in this film even though it takes place in a rather modest apartment setting. The color of red is used effectively when the actors are wearing primarily white and the background usually has large pictures hanging on the walls to give it some interesting depth. Fassbinder has a solid background in theater and when he made films he could work as both director and set designer. It's a striking film to look at and Fassbinder always had a strong view of how his productions should look. The performances are all solid and Carstensen is very strong in the title role. One of the more interesting parts in this film is by Hermann as Marlene. She never speaks in the film and its not known for sure if she's a mute or not. She's basically Petra's slave and it's suggested that they're relationship is founded on Petra's domination of her. At the end of the film Petra tells Marlene that she is giving her freedom. Marlene responds by packing her bag and leaving Petra for what we think is for good. They're relationship was about possession and when that has ended then it's over for them. This basically was what Fassbinder wanted to show everyone and he has always been fascinated by human emotions in dire situations. Petra wanted to possess Karin but she fooled her from the start. She used her and left her without any remorse at all. This film also gives viewers a look at a very young Eva Mattes who plays Petra's daughter Gabriele. Mattes would become a very well known German actress and is probably best known for her work in a couple of Werner Herzog films. This is certainly not Fassbinder's best film but it is a fascinating character study with some very colorful visuals. Fassbinder was one of cinema's greatest directors and this early effort is interesting to watch from start to finish.