Love is Colder Than Death, 1969
A small time crook named Franz (Fassbinder) ends up in a strange love triangle when he befriends a gangster named Bruno (Ulli Lommel) who was sent to threaten him. The two find Franz's girlfriend, Johanna (Hanna Schygulla) coming between them and tensions mount.
This is Fassbinder's first film, and while it is certainly not his most polished and is even a bit slow in stretches, it has so many of his signatures and enough brilliant moments that you have to give it its due.
The downside of the film, for me, was simply the pacing. From what I have seen of his films thus far, Fassbinder is really good at using intentionally slow passages to align us with the boredom or ennui the character are experiencing. In this film, though, at times it just didn't feel quite right.
Maybe the most pleasant surprise of the film is how film-referential it is. It is so dangerous for films to reference other films, and yet two of my favorite aspects of the film involved just this. To begin with, the character of Bruno is styled, costumed, and shot so much like the main character of
Le Samurai that I had to laugh (and double check the release date of both films).
Then there's the scene that most stuck out to me, in which Franz, Bruno, and Johanna systematically rob a hapless department store employee. As Franz asks for glasses "like the cop wore in
Psycho", she turns to talk to him and Johanna pockets some shoes. The scene is both controlled and a bit dizzying, as the employee spins and spins trying to keep up with the questions they are asking her.
Fassbinder's willingness to put up-front gay sexuality on display is seen here, though it is expressed through the charged friendship between Franz and Bruno. Both characters ostensibly lust after Johanna, but, um . . .
Personally speaking, I really like it when films have that strange stage-movie hybrid feeling. And the numerous shots against stark white backgrounds or in settings with minimal furniture give this film that vibe.
Not a film I'd revisit, but a heck of a debut.