BEWARE OF A HOLY WHORE

Germany, 1971, 103 minutes, Colour.
Lou Castel, Eddi Constantine, Marquard Bohm, Hannah Schygulla, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Hannes Fuchs, Ulli Lommel, Kurt Raab.
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Rainer Wemer Fassbinder was considered a giant of German cinema from the 1960s to the mid-1980s. He was prolific in his filmmaking. This film, from 1971, is his 12th feature out of 42, the 12th in three years.

While they made an impact in their time, offbeat reflections on filmmaking, eccentric characters involved in the film industry, this film is very much anchored in its time. This applies instantly to the style of clothes, their haircuts, especially the men with their long hair, a period that looks rather eccentric.

Audience interest in the film will focus on the situation where people have gathered at a hotel, mainly in the downstairs assembly area but there is no script, no director. The cast includes quite a range of men and women, many of them to appear in future Fassbinder films. He himself also appears as a cranky contributor to the film.

With the bright colour, there is quite an impact for the audience – not subdued. Nor are the performances. There are many flirtations. There are homosexual relationships. There are speculations on how the film could be made. There are some rehearsals, some re-enactments.

How interesting this is will depend on audiences being able to suspend some disbelief in the characters and situation – and their interest in German filmmaking of the period, the work of Fassbinder, his place in German cinema history.