Like Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is a berserk study in manipulation and desire set within the fashion world. Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, fiery genius of New German Cinema, the action is confined to a single hot-house location, the garish boudoir of fashion designer Von Kant. Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus utilises the space with style, finding inventive compositions with each new shot, while Fassbinder’s placement of the film’s three players – Petrais joined by her assistant and a wannabe model – within the frame reveals as much about the trio’s power dynamics as the ferocious and funny dialogue. It’s a film made out of heartbreak, with Fassbinder’s emotions still raw from a failed love affair with Bavarian actor Günther Kaufmann.
From 1969 to his untimely death in 1982, Fassbinder made over 40 productions. This 1973 melodrama might be the best of the lot.
In partnership with The Skinny – the biggest listings and entertainment magazine in the North. Smart, independent writing on film, theatre and much more across the North’s cultural scene.
