Gods of the Plague (RW Fassbinder, 1970)

With Gods of the Plague, RW Fassbinder's sequel to his Love is Colder Than Death, the director showed that he was more than a master storyteller and atmospheric director; this is one of the first (chronologically) Fassbinder films that is absolutely gorgeous. I'm sure you could pause the film at almost any moment and have a still that's worthy of any photography exhibition. Franz is out of jail, but instead of returning to his life with Joanna, he hooks up with a beautiful young waitress he met in a cafe and goes back into a life in petty crime. Although Joanna (Hannah Schygulla, luminous as always in Fassbinder films) is the scorned lover, it's hard to feel any sympathy for her, because Franz does not try to deceive her about their relationship, yet she actively tries to destroy him anyway. The cast of petty thieves and gamblers that populate the film are at once repulsive and compelling, such is Fassbinder's gift at portraying the lower class of criminal. But Gods of the Plague is so much more than just its plot. Every scene is a tableau of sorts, a visual playing field from which Fassbinder seems to take inspiration for the plot actions. Characters sit around in silence, walk around, stare at nothing for extended periods of time -- so much, in fact, that it seems the term ennui was derived from these aimless characters. But, as in the first scene, where Franz walks in front of a brick wall after leaving jail, it's almost hypnotic. There's nothing not visually stunning (in its own quiet way) in this film. Gunther Kaufman, playing a fried of Franz's with whom he goes back into crime, has a beautiful line near the end of the film, as things are going totally wrong: "Life is precious, even right now." This could be the final line in every Fassbinder film; his recurring theme about the importance of even the smallest, pettiest life perhaps began in this film. Reccommended for those at all interested in Fassbinder's films. 8/10

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Why Does Herr R Run Amok? (RW Fassbinder, 1970)

Why Does Herr R Run Amok? is truly the kind of film where it's best not to know the ending, to go through the film unsure of the point until the very end (and even then?). But, the nature of the film necessitates that any intelligent (fingers crossed) discussion of the film focus on the ending; so, if you don't mind knowing how Herr R runs amok, or have seen it, then read on. And if you do mind, go see it now and tell me what you think. Kurt Raab plays Kurt Raab (and there's the first very interesting meta-textual bit!), the titular Herr R who has a lovely wife, a young son, and a job as a draftsman in a small office where everyone, at least on the surface, is friendly to one another. The movie is 75 minutes of Raab's life: his wife's parents come to visit, the neighbors and assorted friends come over for coffee, he works in his office, he visits his son's school, and so on. Most of these encounters are those of the most mundane order, things that we do every day and take no notice of. Fassbinder forces us to notice them, however, with his long, unbroken camera shots and unflinching eye to the small pieces that make up our lives. One particularly beautiful in its portrayal of "nothing" shot is in Herr R's office, where we see what each of the four employees (but, not suprisingly, the superior boss) are working on in pretty good detail. Herr R seems happiest, or at least happy, when he is at his job. But while many of the scenes are commonplace, a few are so painful I almost couldn't bear to watch. When Herr R goes into the record store and asks the young, beautiful clerks if they could identify a song he heard on the radio. They start out giggling at him behind their hands, and by the end, are fully laughing in his face. The strangest thing is, he doesn't seem to notice or care. The dinner party with his coworkers is another painful event in Herr R's life that he doesn't notice; the looks on his coworkers (and especially boss's) faces when he gives a speech says it all. And when he practically begs his boss to stay and "drink in friendship" with him, it's heartbreaking. We hear about Herr Rs on the news every once in a while, seemingly normal men who one day snap and kill their families. When Herr R does it, right after changing the volume on the tv and in the middle of listening to a neighbor speak about her upcoming skiing trip, it doesn't make any more sense than hearing about it on the news. We don't know any more about his mental state than those cases on the news, even though we have spent an hour and a half inside his world. He didn't react to the boldfaced disrespects, but snaps at nothing. It's as if he has finally had enough and lets the world know. And when the authorities come for him at work the next day, he hangs himself in the bathroom, leaving behind a mystery that no one will ever understand. Fassbinder doesn't try to solve the mystery; instead, he just shows the audience that the mystery exists. That's the mark of a genius filmmaker. 8.5/10

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