Complete credited cast: | |||
Margit Carstensen | ... | Margot | |
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Ulrich Faulhaber | ... | Kurt, ihr Mann |
Brigitte Mira | ... | Mutter | |
Irm Hermann | ... | Lore | |
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Armin Meier | ... | Karli |
Adrian Hoven | ... | Dr. Merck | |
Kurt Raab | ... | Herr Bauer | |
Ingrid Caven | ... | Edda | |
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Lilo Pempeit | ... | Mrs. Schall |
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Helga Märthesheimer | ... | Dr. von Unruh |
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Herbert Steinmetz | ... | Dr. Auer |
Hark Bohm | ... | Dr. Rozenbaum | |
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Constanze Haas | ... | Bibi, Margots Tochter |
Margot, who lives in a comfortable middle class apartment, fears that she is losing her mind after having had her second child. Her husband Kurt, who is busy studying for an exam, does not understand her situation. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law Lore are openly hostile to her. She resorts to valium and drink, and looks for sympathy, but to no avail. Written by Will Gilbert
I don't think I've ever been as struck by the camera movement in a Fassbinder film as I was by that in this one. It makes this chamber drama seem less claustrophobic, but also more panicked, than it would otherwise seem. And, as the title suggests, it is pretty panicked.
Fassbinder's most frequent muse is Douglas Sirk, but here he seems to me more inspired by Nicholas Ray, especially by Bigger Than Life, with a father figure turning towards drugs as an escape from domestic drudgery replaced by a mother figure. This film also probably directly influenced Todd Haynes when he was creating Safe. But I think Fear of Fear is emotionally and intellectually richer than either it's ancestor or descendant.