The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Year Released: 1972
Rating: 1.5
Four Fassbinderettes occupy one room in one apartment (fashion designer Petra von Kant's, specifically) where they move in a robotic slow motion and speak in monotone - appearance wise, the four women could very easily be replaced by men in drag. Cynicism aside, though, it's hard to deny that there's an intellect at work here - Fassbinder, for all his flaws, had a wry outlook on the world and (particularly in this case) human relationships. Here, one woman falls in love with another woman, who falls out of love with her, tortures her and leaves her (somewhat like Fox & His Friends with women); all the while, von Kant's personal servant (who's in love with her moody, domineering boss) gets horribly mistreated ... and she likes it like that. If it weren't for the aforementioned behavioral tics (try turning your tape or disc player on double speed to notice how sluggish their actions are), and had it been shorter (two hours is a long time to endure the painstaking precision), it might be recommendable; as is, I was too distracted by the pacing to get into it on any level.
