Fassbinder uses Ali: Fear Eats the Soul as a vehicle to show the prejudices faced in Germany at the time. Early in the film we hear Ali state that Germans and Arabs aren’t the same. The entire film shows the truth in this statement at the time. While we see the expected discrimination from the Germans to Ali, we also see discrimination from Ali’s friends and coworkers to Emi. This film really makes one think about their own views.
Overall the acting in the film is less than extraordinary and the picture quality not its finest. However this may partially be attributed to the fact it was made in only two weeks and originally intended as just an exercise for Fassbinder. Despite these details the film received two awards from the 1974 Cannes Film Festival and is considered one of Fassbinders greatest works.
Bottom Line: Our Editor would reccomend this film to anyone in the mood for a deep, contemplative film. We also reccomend having a tissue handy for the scene with Emmi's children and a large bowl of ice cream.
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