The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

The German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder started out in the experimental theater, but his career famously took a turn after he became acquanted with the melodramas of the great Douglas Sirk.

Those two periods of his canon meet in 1972's "The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant," which adapts one of Fassbinder's early plays to the big screen (quite faithfully, we can presume -- the film stays to a single set for the entire running time) with meticulous aesthetics worthy of Sirk himself. But to limit our reference points would be to unfairly reduce Fassbinder's accomplishment. His "Bitter Tears" -- which features an all-female cast -- exists within a long tradition of so-called "women's pictures."

"Petra" concerns the title character, a fashion designer who finds herself obsessed with a younger model. The attractive girl comes to stay with her, but eventually spurns the distraught Petra, who in turn begins to take out all of her frustrations on Marlene, a caring -- and doting -- personal assistant lingering constantly in the film's background. Fassbinder's camera constantly roves around the characters, and they constantly rove around each other, the blocking always clueing us in to power dynamics and unacknowledged motivations that the dialogue never addresses. It's a fascinating approach: The film is all talk, but the emotion remains elsewhere. Speaking of which, Fassbinder's unrivaled ability to dress a set may reach a peak here: he surrounds Petra and her morose clan with overwhelming large-canvas artwork, and often flanks them in the frame with mannequins -- chilling remnants of the past lording over present mistakes.

The Criterion Blu-ray release of the film brings with it numerous comments and interviews from some of Fassbinder's closest collaborators. First off is a half-hour collection of conversations with the actresses who appear in "Petra Von Kant," entitled "Outsiders." They discuss Fassbinder's sensibility and personal demeanor, in addition to their readings of the film. For a closer interpretation, check out the 24-minute interview with film scholar Jane Shattuc, or the hour-long documentary "Role Play" (taken from German television, 1992), both also included on the disc. The latter, particularly, is invaluable context: It provides a gender-focused reading not just of "Petra," but of Fassbinder's whole career.

Lastly, there's an interview with cinematographer Michel Ballhaus, who speaks about his relationship with the spiky Fassbinder. (He photographed "Whity" and "Beware of a Holy Whore" for Fassbinder as well, the latter of which was also released by Criterion via their Eclipse line.) Ballhaus would go on to work for Scorsese, shooting "Goodfellas" among others, but his work with Fassbinder remains a career hallmark: Their vibrant photography, influenced by classic Hollywood, set them miles apart from their peers. And the work they produced has never looked better than this: Each blob of paint on Petra's walls and each chip coming off her mannequins is rendered clearly, with detail rendered dense and grain translated faithfully. This is a standout, both among Fassbinder's films and Criterion's releases.

"The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant"
Blu-ray
Criterion.com
$39.95