Bitter Tears

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
West Germany / 1972
124 minutes / German / In-Person Screening

In the early 1970s, Rainer Werner Fassbinder discovered the American melodramas of Douglas Sirk and was inspired by them to begin working in a new, more intensely emotional register. One of the first and best-loved films of this period in his career is “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” which balances a realistic depiction of tormented romance with staging that remains true to the director’s roots in experimental theater. This unforgettable, unforgiving dissection of the imbalanced relationship between a haughty fashion designer (Margit Carstensen) and a beautiful but icy ingenue (Hanna Schygulla) — based, in a sly gender reversal, on the writer-director’s own desperate obsession with a young actor — is a true Fassbinder affair, featuring exquisitely claustrophobic cinematography by Michael Ballhaus and full-throttle performances by an all-female cast.

Intro and discussion by Cait Lore, film critic for Cinema St. Louis’ blog, The Lens.