The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (1972)

Starring: Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake, Eva Mattes, Gisela Fackeldey, Irm Hermann

First, the Lowdown: A egotistic fashion designer has a torrid affair with an aspiring model.

Petra von Kant is a famous German designer who has wowed the fashion world with her inspired designs and audacious personality. Behind the scenes, she is brutally cruel to her assistant, Marlene: insulting at one moment, then seductive the next. Petra’s cousin, Sidonie, makes a surprise visit and introduces Karin, who wants to become a model. Almost immediately, Petra is smitten with Karin – to the frustration of Marlene. Soon after, Petra and Karin are living together, with the designer supporting the young lady’s pursuit of modeling.

During their time together, Petra and Karin expose themselves emotionally to each other: Petra’s previous romances have all ended poorly (the father of her teenage daughter died before she was born), whereas Karin’s father killed her mother in a drunken rage before committing suicide. Karin has always felt her tragic past distanced her from previous relationships, where as Petra sees it as one more thing the share in common. But while Petra finds herself becoming closer and closer to her lover, Karin still remains aloof.

This is yet another one of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “I shot this in a week” style dramas. We never leave Petra’s studio apartment, even though months pass as the film goes on. But the limited scenery works well to the story’s advantage. At first the closed space feels intimate, especially as our wayward lovers first become acquainted with each other. As the movie progresses (and Petra and Karin’s relationship comes apart at the seams), the room becomes claustrophobic, and then desperately confining – a refuge from someone who has become secluded by her own emotions.

Line of the Movie: “It's sad, believe me, when you realize that the distressing things by far overweight the beautiful things you feel.”

Three and a half stars. Time to plant the corn.