65
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The PlaylistJessica KiangThe PlaylistJessica KiangThomsen builds a fascinating film around a fascinating man, but never, despite his evident deep affection for him, allows it to fall into hagiography.
- 75The Film StageThe Film StageOffers enough fine material and organizes them with enough intelligence to create a many-pieced psychological portraiture of one of the most intriguing filmmakers who’s ever lived.
- 70Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonThomsen culls wisely from Fassbinder's filmography to illustrate the kino-giant's abiding themes, patricide and masochism among them.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerIt’s a must-see for anyone interested in the mind of a major auteur, even if Thomsen tends to favor psychology over cinema.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenThe access to Fassbinder that the relationship provided was a boon to the film, but a disadvantage as well because the close-up view results in a patchy portrait rather than a coherent biography.
- We leave the documentary loving the films rather than the film-maker.
- 60Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganScreen DailyFionnuala HalliganThis is an idiosyncratic hop around Fassbinder’s life by his Danish film historian friend Thomsen.
- 60VarietyJay WeissbergVarietyJay WeissbergStudents of the astonishing body of films won’t find much that enhances their understanding, yet Thomsen’s footage offers more than mere scraps from a great career, and deserves inclusion in the corpus.