The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant

press release: West Germany | 1972 | 35mm | 125 min. | German with English subtitles

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder; Cast: Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Irm Hermann

Successful fashion designer Petra von Kant (Carstensen) sadistically dominates her live-in personal assistant within the confines of their claustrophobic apartment. When Petra falls in love with a beautiful younger woman, it exposes her own considerable vulnerabilities. This ahead-of-its-time black comedy is a mediation on the relationship between power and desire among women. 

Our Sunday afternoon series at the Chazen Museum of Art this fall will provide an opportunity to view 15 features by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a founder of New German Cinema and one of the most controversial filmmakers of his generation. Fassbinder’s prolific oeuvre includes examples of virtually every genre, and while he drew inspiration from the melodramas of Douglas Sirk and the French Nouvelle Vague, Fassbinder’s own movies have influenced a whole generation of filmmakers including Todd Haynes, Quentin Tarantino and Todd Solondz. All screened on 35mm prints, the selections in this series conclude with Fassbinder’s trilogy of post-War German life (The Marriage of Maria Braun, Lola and Veronika Voss). The series will provide ample evidence of Fassbinder’s genius, reminding us of the miracle of his short career as well as the tragedy of his early demise, in 1982, at the age of 37.

All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.