Category Archives: German Cinema

In a Year with Thirteen Moons (1978)

Posted on September 11, 2013 by yearof44films

No one falls for the fairy tale that there’s a “real life” in a “real world” and that “real life” is more important than loving. What does it matter? I know we don’t really have a chance, whatever might become … Continue reading →

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Despair (1978)

Posted on August 3, 2013 by yearof44films

In many ways this is the movie that started it all for me. San Francisco, 1978. I really do still remember it! A short ride on the streetcar to Civic Center, then a long wait for the 19-Polk bus to … Continue reading →

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Germany in Autumn (1978)

Posted on July 19, 2013 by yearof44films

I knew a little bit about the Baader-Meinhof group before watching Germany in  Autumn, but not much. I’d seen the Gerhard Richter paintings based on the newspaper images of the leaders’ alleged suicides (haunting, amazing) and Margarethe von Trotta’s Marianne … Continue reading →

Posted in German Cinema, Rainer Werner Fassbinder | 1 Comment

The Stationmaster’s Wife (1977)

Posted on July 7, 2013 by yearof44films

I’ve never understood why distributors feel the need to change the titles of foreign movies instead of properly translating them. Okay, I do understand why—they want to appeal to a broader, i.e., American audience—but I really think it’s annoying. In … Continue reading →

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Women in New York (1977)

Posted on June 29, 2013 by yearof44films

It’s easy to forget that RWF continued to work in theater throughout most of his career, especially considering the magnitude of his yearly output in film. (In 1974 alone he directed four stage plays and served as creative director at … Continue reading →

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Chinese Roulette (1976)

Posted on June 19, 2013 by yearof44films

I recently announced I had wrapped up 1976. Not true! I forgot about Chinese Roulette! Apologies to anyone actually following this thing who might have rejoiced at another year’s worth of Fassbinder out of the way, but we’ve got one … Continue reading →

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Satan’s Brew (1976)

Posted on June 8, 2013 by yearof44films

I’ve always said the others made me into the leader, whereas they say I was looking for followers. So I’ve simply tried to create a comedy about myself as seen from outside,  a comedy about what I would be if … Continue reading →

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I Only Want You to Love Me (1976)

Posted on May 29, 2013 by yearof44films

As I’ve said many times now, one of Fassbinder’s great strengths as an artist was his ability to translate incredibly specific, personal, and often idiosyncratic experiences and emotions into terms that a much wider audience could relate to. You don’t … Continue reading →

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Fear of Fear (1975)

Posted on April 26, 2013 by yearof44films

It’s impossible to watch Angst vor der Angst (the German title is just so much better, don’t you think? Just say it out loud!) without thinking of Martha. Both films feature Margit Carstensen as a high-strung housewife crushed by marriage. … Continue reading →

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Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (1975)

Posted on April 2, 2013 by yearof44films

My husband and I saw Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven as part of a Fassbinder retrospective at the Pacific Film Archive in the 1990s. It was one of our favorite movies at the time, so of course I was curious … Continue reading →

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