The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant Rainer Werner Fassbinder , 1972, 124 min 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 theatre. 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. Screening as part of our Histoire(s) du cinéma series