The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)
"Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant" (original title)

Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer -- arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She mistreats Marlene (her secretary, maid, and co-designer). Enter Karin, a 23-year-old beauty who... See full summary »

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder (play), Rainer Werner Fassbinder (screenplay)

Stars:

Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Margit Carstensen	...	Petra von Kant
Hanna Schygulla	...	Karin Thimm
Katrin Schaake	...	Sidonie von Grasenabb
Eva Mattes	...	Gabriele von Kant
Gisela Fackeldey	...	Valerie von Kant
Irm Hermann	...	Marlene

Storyline

Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer -- arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She mistreats Marlene (her secretary, maid, and co-designer). Enter Karin, a 23-year-old beauty who wants to be a model. Petra falls in love with Karin and invites her to move in. The rest of the film deals with the emotions of this affair and its aftermath. Fassbinder tells his story in a series of 5 or 6 long scenes with extended uses of a single camera shot and deep focus.

---

Plot Keywords:

love | model | secretary | fashion designer | lesbian | 

---

Taglines:

Sex is the ultimate weapon.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

5 October 1972 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

Filming Locations:

Worpswede, Lower Saxony, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 325,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmverlag der Autoren, Tango Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rainer Werner Fassbinder wrote the entire screenplay for the film by hand during a single 12-hour flight from Berlin to Los Angeles.

---

Quotes

Sidonie: It's Karins fault.
Valerie von Kant: Karin? What's it to do with Karin?
Sidonie: Everyone knows Petra's mad about her.
Petra von Kant: Mad? I'm not mad, Sidonie. I love her! Love her as I've never loved anything in my life... that girl's little finger is worth more than the lot of you.

---

Crazy Credits

Gewidmet dem, der hier Marlene wurde. (Dedicated to the one who became Marlene here)

---

Connections

Referenced in All About My Mother (1999)

---

Soundtracks

"The Great Pretender"
Performed by The Platters

User Reviews

Fassbinder's ultimate masterpiece

During his 37 years on Earth, the great German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder made a total of 41 films in his 13 year film career. Not counting the countless plays, TV series and acting gigs he did, his output was ferocious, much like his personal life. There have been many things written and spoken about Fassbinder - that he was anti-Semitic, tyrannical, misanthropic and homophobic (even though he was an open homosexual) - yet no-one will deny his raw genius and his place as a driving force in the New German Cinema movement. He made many fantastic films, and I don't think I would be alone is stating that he was at his best when dealing with melodrama, and more specifically, complex female characters.

Possibly his best known film, Fear Eats The Soul, is widely considered his best, but I feel that The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant shows Fassbinder at the top of his game. He usually worked with the same troupe of actors (Brigitte Mira, Kurt Raab, Karlheinz Bohm amongst others) and here he has two of his finest - Margit Carstensen as the powerful yet desperate fashion designer Petra Von Kant, and Hanna Schygulla (who played the title character in Fassbinder's other masterpiece The Marriage Of Maria Braun) as her newly appointed love interest, Karin. In my opinion, Carstensen is one of the finest actresses in cinema history, along with Bette Davis and Liv Ullmann, and is never better here. She is dominating and sadistic, yet when she opens up to her cousin Sidonie (Katrin Scaake) or her new lesbian lover Karin, she is tragic, broken and lonely. It is a tour-de-force on display, as her character changes as much as she changes her hairpieces.

Petra is residing in her apartment when we first meet her, awoken by fellow designer Marlene (Irm Hermann) who stays with her. We quickly learn that Petra sadistically treats Marlene like a slave, ordering her to bring her things and even orders her to slow-dance at one point. When she is joined by her cousin, Petra reveals how her past relationships with men have ended in disaster and resentment, and that men will ultimately leave her empty and disappointed. She is introduced to Karin, a timid model who Petra visibly becomes interested in, and eventually infatuated by. As Petra and Karin start a seemingly cold and difficult relationship, Petra's jealousy and fear of loneliness comes to the fore as she struggles to hold herself together. In one particularly powerful scene, Petra sits motionless on the edge of the bed after being told by Karin how none-existent her feelings really are, and a single tear rolls slowly down her face. Her face is as white as porcelain and as motionless as a doll, as the realisation hits her that her situation is as fake as the mannequins she decorates with her creations.

Adapted from his own play, Fassbinder never moves the action outside Petra's claustrophobic apartment, instead allowing the pent up feelings to explode within the confines of one room. The screenplay, acting, cinematography and music is absolute perfection, and in my opinion this is Fassbinder's crowning achievement. The final scene, which I won't reveal, is in turn hilarious and heartbreaking. If you are as spellbound as I am by the acting talents of Carstensen, then I would recommend both Fear Of Fear and Satan's Brew (both Fassbinder) to see the full range of her ability. Possibly the finest film of the New German Cinema movement.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com