Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)

A lonely widow meets a much younger Arab worker in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love, to their own surprise and to the outright shock of their families, colleagues, and drinking buddies.

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writer:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Stars:

Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Barbara Valentin

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brigitte Mira	...	Emmi
El Hedi ben Salem	...	Ali
Irm Hermann	...	Krista
Elma Karlowa	...	Mrs. Kargus
Anita Bucher	...	Mrs. Ellis
Gusti Kreissl	...	Paula
Doris Mattes	...	Mrs. Angermeyer (as Doris Mathes)
Margit Symo	...	Hedwig
Katharina Herberg	...	Girl in bar
Lilo Pempeit	...	Mrs. Münchmeyer
Peter Gauhe	...	Bruno Kurowski
Marquard Bohm	...	Gruber
Walter Sedlmayr	...	Angermayer
Hannes Gromball	...	Waiter
Hark Bohm	...	Doctor

Storyline

The wildly prolific German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder paid homage to his cinematic hero Douglas Sirk with this update of that filmmaker's All That Heaven Allows (1955). A lonely widow (Brigitte Mira) meets a much younger Arab worker (El Hedi ben Salem) in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love, to their own surprise-and to the outright shock of their families, colleagues, and drinking buddies. In Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Fassbinder expertly wields the emotional power of classic Hollywood melodrama to expose the racial tensions underlying contemporary German culture.

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Plot Keywords:

racism | culture clash | loneliness | friendship | family relationships | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film has a 100% rating based on 34 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Quotes

Emmi Kurowski: We'll be rich, Ali... and we'll buy ourselves a little piece of heaven.
Ali: Why heaven?
Emmi Kurowski: Oh, just a fancy of mine.

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Crazy Credits

Before the introductory credits there is the line: Das Glück ist nicht immer lustig (Happiness is not always fun)

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Connections

Featured in Fassbinder (2015)

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Soundtracks

Al Asfouriah
Written by Philemon Wahba
Performed by Sabah

User Reviews

Is it love?

First of all, this film has definitely the best (German) movie title ever. It loses much of its power when it's translated but in German it is absolutely fascinating.

On the other hand, Fassbinder's movies and especially this one are not untranslatable, which is positive. The story about a love (is it?) between two people of different age and origin is universal and, though set in a very xenophobe and intolerant Germany, should be understood by everybody all over the world. Fassbinder is a master in guiding his actors so they can they play naturally and believably without using a particular local accent or slang that is probably more realistic.

I do not completely agree with the film's utterly pessimistic view on practically all the characters in the movie; I think his portray of contemporary society is a little bit exaggerated (and it was even twenty-five years ago). However, I acknowledge that by means of exaggerating like this, Fassbinder makes his criticism clear and evokes a particularly bad feeling (of guilt?) in the viewer's belly. While the story is rather sad, it includes a lot of (sarcastic) side-swipes on society as it is.

Angst essen Seele auf (oh, this is a marvellous title!) is maybe a more silent version of Harold and Maude; more silent but not less interesting.

Details

Official Sites:

Criterion [United States] Official site

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German Arabic

Release Date:

31 October 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Filming Locations:

Breisacher Straße/Spicherenstraße, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM260,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,623, 16 February 2003

Gross USA:

$8,144

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,698

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmverlag der Autoren, Tango Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1