Fassbinder - The Gangster Films (1969-1970) [ReUp]

Three of RW Fassbinder's early works united together in a single release. Each reworking the gangster noir genre, a la the French New Wave, these three Fassbinder films are some of the most interesting and intriguing of the New German Cinema movement. The loose trilogy of Love is Colder Than Death, Gods Of the Plague and The American Soldier, each shot in black and white, represent an iconoclastic artist's journey though narrative and form.

Fassbinder is maybe the coolest of all the German auteurs, adored in the US in particular where major exhibitions and events have been held in his honour. Although spiritually this is pure art house, in the same vein as Godard or Warhol, Fassbinder's work is fastidiously planned and executed. It's relatively easy to watch, despite its explorations of some fairly tough terrain. Throughout, there is a depressing existentialist sense of hopelessness and an often claustrophobic lethargy that shows his characters stuck in a rut, where there is little point in changing anything.

In the few brief years of his career he was remarkably prolific. Though finance was a constant problem, every penny he made or encouraged others to give went into his work. He was a complex and gifted character, openly gay and yet also married for a time to one of his leading ladies. His cast adored and hated him in equal measure, athough (according to some of the interviews in this set) they all have a residing respect for his work and his vision.

He initially started his own theatre group in Bavaria where he wrote, produced, directed and acted; a pattern he would continue with his film-making. The influence that theatre had on his film-making is often evident, with much of the action taking place in carefully composed long, wide shots with little editing. As luck would have it, this preference was also a practical blessing meaning that he shot economically, rarely wasting money on superfluous film stock. In other words, he achieved an amazing bang for the buck.

A self-destructive character, he died in 1982 of a drugs overdose at the tender age of 37, having turned in some 40 films, as well as a TV series – all created in just over a decade.

Fassbinder's first-film is truly remarkable. The framing and composition throughout has been carefully considered, betraying a highly developed theatrical design sensibility, and despite its age, it looks remarkably cool today. (There are some shots that could be stills from Pulp-Fiction). It's been economically shot, probably on 16mm, and the acting and setting throughout betrays a disciplined approach to the work that is often absent in independent film-making. Strangely, though this film has a strange detached callousness (rather like 'A Clockwork Orange') it wears its influences clearly on its sleeve. French Director Rohmer even gets a mention in the opening credits as well as providing a name for a central character in the film – Erika Rohmer, and the pace of the action is very akin to Rohmer's..
It could be argued that this brilliantly named piece also borrows heavily from B-movie noir and there is something of the gangster buddy movie about this film. But there's also a very strange sense of detached brutality and stark coldness, where violent action is played out without fanfare, as a matter of course. Fassbinder plays one of the key roles himself, and though critics sometimes dismiss this as Fassbinder merely finding his own style and voice, for me this was one of the finest outings in the set.











This film actually seems to follow on from 'Love is Colder than Death' with many of the same characters, though don't expect any logical continuity. (For this reason, it is often referred to as Part 2 of the Franz Walsch trilogy)
Franz comes out of prison literally as a 'new man', played by a different actor than in the first movie. He tracks down his favourite squeeze, Joanna (who is the same person / actress), but soon leaves her for Margerethe, and together with an old chum they rob a supermarket. The movie, taken on its own merits, would be acceptable enough but it just doesn't have the cold and unemotional atmosphere of 'Love' and as a consequence fails to hold the attention in quite the same way.











This is seen as the third part of the Walsch trilogy and has many of the same actors and characters as the previous two. This time we get a Vietnam vet, Ricky, who teams up with Franz Walsch (Fassbinder again) to form a dynamic duo of hoods. Ricky is a hard-drinking American who treats his women mean and takes out local gangsters for some crooked cops. There is a dark and queasy undercurrent to the movie though unlike 'Love' it all feels a little contrived and it's unclear whether what unfolds is intended as parody or homage. Sadly it fails at both possibilities.

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