← Back to Reviews
in
Fear of Fear, 1975
As the birth of her second child approaches, Margot (Margrit Carstensen) begins to experience strong anxiety, visual distortions, and a certainty that she is going insane. Her husband, Kurt (Ulrich Faulhaber) is little help, and Kurt's family (Brigitte Mira, Irm Hermann) take barely-disguised delight in Margot's fragile state.
Having at this point heard many, many stories from friends about the emotions they experienced during and shortly after their pregnancies, it was interesting to see which aspects of this story felt "right" to me, and which ones didn't. Margot's generally unsettled state--one in which she seems to oscillate between detachment and nervousness--seemed pretty on the money. Less convincing were the visual distortions (portrayed as the whole world going sort of wavy). It feels almost as if Fassbinder felt the need to put in a symptom that was more "real" or obvious.
I liked Carstensen's performance as Margot, and I appreciated the way that the film portrayed and developed the relationship between Margot, her husband, and her in-laws. In the very beginning of the film, Kurt practically pushes his heavily pregnant wife out of the way in order to keep watching the TV, only breaking away from his show when she announces that she thinks she has gone into labor. His loyalty often feels as if it is more with his own family, which is convenient because they only ever talk about how and why Margot is to blame for everything. Margot's sister-in-law doesn't even bother suppressing a smile when Kurt says that a doctor is worried that Margot might have schizophrenia.
I also liked the way that the film was peppered with echoes of Margot's mental health struggles. A man named Bauer (Kurt Raab) is practically stalking Margot--following her on the street and staring at her and her daughter. A woman with very similar coloring, age, and frame is in the mental health clinic. A scene in which Margot is standing face-to-face with this quasi-mirror is one of my favorite visual moments of the film.
My other favorite sequence is from the still at the top of this review. Margot dutifully takes her Valium, but then takes a drink of cognac and puts on some headphones to listen to some music. Yes, heaven forbid, this mom has a drink and listens to some music. When she is discovered this way--by her in-laws and her child's teacher--they all act as if they have found her in some decadent display of debauchery. In her current living situation, even taking a few minutes to have a drink and listen to a record is treated like a grave sin---is it any wonder she feels like she is going crazy?
While at times I was a bit uncomfortable with what felt like the writer taking what is essentially post-partum depression and just interpreting it how he wanted, I did overall appreciate what the film had to say about how mothers in particular are overly-policed in their behavior and how that can be a dangerous combination with stigmatized mental health.
Fear of Fear, 1975
As the birth of her second child approaches, Margot (Margrit Carstensen) begins to experience strong anxiety, visual distortions, and a certainty that she is going insane. Her husband, Kurt (Ulrich Faulhaber) is little help, and Kurt's family (Brigitte Mira, Irm Hermann) take barely-disguised delight in Margot's fragile state.
Having at this point heard many, many stories from friends about the emotions they experienced during and shortly after their pregnancies, it was interesting to see which aspects of this story felt "right" to me, and which ones didn't. Margot's generally unsettled state--one in which she seems to oscillate between detachment and nervousness--seemed pretty on the money. Less convincing were the visual distortions (portrayed as the whole world going sort of wavy). It feels almost as if Fassbinder felt the need to put in a symptom that was more "real" or obvious.
I liked Carstensen's performance as Margot, and I appreciated the way that the film portrayed and developed the relationship between Margot, her husband, and her in-laws. In the very beginning of the film, Kurt practically pushes his heavily pregnant wife out of the way in order to keep watching the TV, only breaking away from his show when she announces that she thinks she has gone into labor. His loyalty often feels as if it is more with his own family, which is convenient because they only ever talk about how and why Margot is to blame for everything. Margot's sister-in-law doesn't even bother suppressing a smile when Kurt says that a doctor is worried that Margot might have schizophrenia.
I also liked the way that the film was peppered with echoes of Margot's mental health struggles. A man named Bauer (Kurt Raab) is practically stalking Margot--following her on the street and staring at her and her daughter. A woman with very similar coloring, age, and frame is in the mental health clinic. A scene in which Margot is standing face-to-face with this quasi-mirror is one of my favorite visual moments of the film.
My other favorite sequence is from the still at the top of this review. Margot dutifully takes her Valium, but then takes a drink of cognac and puts on some headphones to listen to some music. Yes, heaven forbid, this mom has a drink and listens to some music. When she is discovered this way--by her in-laws and her child's teacher--they all act as if they have found her in some decadent display of debauchery. In her current living situation, even taking a few minutes to have a drink and listen to a record is treated like a grave sin---is it any wonder she feels like she is going crazy?
While at times I was a bit uncomfortable with what felt like the writer taking what is essentially post-partum depression and just interpreting it how he wanted, I did overall appreciate what the film had to say about how mothers in particular are overly-policed in their behavior and how that can be a dangerous combination with stigmatized mental health.