My introduction to Fassbinder couldn't have been better. It's definitely a film that you watch for the director, because it's impossible not to notice the man behind the camera, at least in this. The story is a rather simple one, conveyed in a few different lights, which are all almost painfully true in context. We watch as Ali, an Arab from Morocco, and Emma, an elderly German woman, come to be together. We watch as Ali and Emma are alienated by general society, and even Emma's children insult her and abandon her. This general avoidance continues, and though it eventually gets a bit better, Emma's attitude towards Ali changes, and we are now looking at him through Emma's eyes, as almost an animal on display. She showcases his muscles, talks about him to her friends to her friends in a way that you would almost talk about an animal, and does so shamelessly. When he comes home drunk, he knocks on the door, but when Emma sees that he is sleeping, she leaves him on the porch like a house pet.
Eventually Ali leaves, and gradually Emma realizes how unhappy she is without him. It puts love into perspective in a way that I haven't seen before, and it shows what a force many (I am not one) could perceive it to be. The film ends almost like it started, but that will make more sense if you go out and see it. Truly a fascinating film, and there was certainly a master behind the camera.
Eventually Ali leaves, and gradually Emma realizes how unhappy she is without him. It puts love into perspective in a way that I haven't seen before, and it shows what a force many (I am not one) could perceive it to be. The film ends almost like it started, but that will make more sense if you go out and see it. Truly a fascinating film, and there was certainly a master behind the camera.
