ENFANT TERRIBLE

“But someone’s got to be the asshole.”- Rainer Werner Fassbinder

ENFANT TERRIBLE is a biopic of the great German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Fassbinder was a notoriously difficult and creative artist who was frequently abusive and who abused drugs and alcohol. Like many others, he worshipped the French New Wave directors like Jean Luc Godard and only wanted to work with the kind of freedom that Godard had from the rules and the standards of filmmaking. He lived for his art in a way that laid waste to his life and he laid waste to the lives of others. He died of cocaine and barbiturate poisoning when he was only 37, but his fearsome work ethic managed to produce 40 feature films, two television series, three short films, four video productions, and 24 plays even in that short lifetime.

Here’s the trailer:

Many people say they love art, that they would do anything to create art, but how many people are willing to not only dedicate their lives to their art to this degree and die young for it? Now I’m not saying that it is right, because he was abusive, but the film does make it clear that he abuses himself as much as anyone else. He didn’t mean to live long. He was a comet flying across the night sky that burned up. Evaporated. His own words in the trailer tell you his intent:

Everyone must decide for himself whether it is better to have a brief but more intensely felt existence or to live a long and ordinary life. — Rainer Werner Fassbinder

ENFANT TERRIBLE was directed by director Oskar Roehler (NO PLACE TO GO), written by Klaus Richte (DER UNSICHTBARE) and starring Oliver Masucci (Dark, The Girlfriend Experience) as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Hary Prinz (STEIRERWUT, SPUREN DES BOSEN) as Kurt Raab, Katja Riemann as Gudrun (SUCK ME SHAKESPEER, ROSENSTRASSE), and Felix Hellmann as Harry Baer (SERVUS BABY, MYSTERY CACHE). The cinematography is by Carl-Friedrich Koschnick (PUNK BERLIN 1892) and the art direction is by Markus Schütz (BABYLON BERLIN) and production design is by Roehler. The sets are not realistic sets, but clearly meant to function as the set dressing in a play would function. In kitchens, if you look closely, appliances and sinks are painted onto the wall, emphasizing Fassbinder’s beginnings and artistic grounding in theatre. When I call a set stagey, in this case, it is completely obvious and intentional on the part of the film makers. This is a biopic and largely the female characters are renamed versions of real women in Fassbinder’s life. It also brings to mind the idea that the film, as a biopic, is a fictionalized version of Fassbinder’s life and puts that fictional aspect right in the viewer’s face. I think this is because Fassbinder himself was playing a role in his own life every day. He portrayed the brilliant and erratic director to whatever end he was seeking to achieve. To intimidate rivals and investors, to seduce and control lovers and friends, to coerce actors and crew into giving their best efforts. His life was a live play. The cinematography, with bluish purple and dark red gels especially, lends itself to this interpretation. It is the color of Rainer and his love life, principally when he was cruising bars, is that of a mysterious and sensual world. The everyday lighting of indoor rooms is exactly that. It’s accurate and soothing even when emotional and physical violence takes place. The lighting of the “outside” scenes, none of which are outdoors, reminds me a bit of the dreamlike lighting of the final scenes of David Lynch’s LOST HIGHWAY. The fact that those scenes were probably shot outside and that these weren’t says something good about the craft of Carl-Friedrich Koschnick. Martin Todsharow (THE CAPTAIN) wrote the music and it is a haunting composition with a main theme on piano that’s still playing in my head as I write this. It is the musical equivalent of reaching for a perfection or an artistic goal, only to have it snatched away from you, no matter how successful you are. Those notes are Fassbinder’s glory and sadness.

As a conceptual whole, the effect is nothing less that brilliant.

Oliver Masucci as Fassbinder is spellbinding. He’s an arrogant nasty man who is constantly seeking to manipulate others, but is always bested by others machinations in love. He is almost totally self centered as his self is centered on film making and nothing will stand in the way of that. He is an angry, dangerous person with an odd and touching softness that comes out only when he feels empathy for a specific person, touched by their earnestness or the situation or both, or because they gave a great performance. This paradox brought to mind this quote for me.

Extreme acts of cruelty require a high level of empathy. The next time you have an instinct to help someone, you might consider crushing them instead. — Hannibal, Bedelia du Maurier

The film and this performance put forth the idea that perhaps Fassbinder was driven by his ambition and desire to make the best films, but he was much more sensitive than it might have appeared. His reaction at the reception to his film ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL at Cannes brought me to tears. His terrible luck in love is part of this as well. The manipulator got got quite frequently. He allowed himself to be used as well as using others. Hary Prinz as Kurt Raab is an ironic and amused counterpoint to Fassbinder. Only more rarely than Fassbinder, do you see Raab allow his heart to show. He knows Werner well enough not to and he also has the strength to stand up for Fassbinder successfully, especially with his snide comebacks. You can see a caring for Fassbinder though and a dedication to the work underneath it all. Gudrun played by Katja Reimann can be seen working in front of the camera or in the background of a family scene in the kitchen or at a restaurant, but she is a warm, if appalled and confused, part of the ensemble. She brings an uncomplicated kindness to the scene. The ensemble is very solid, working on the film that is constructed in this way. You can see humanity in each of the actors, their weakness, needs, and desires. In particular, Erdal Yildiz (COLLIDE) as El Hedi ben Salem, Jochen Schropp (Sternenfänger) as Armin Meier, Michael Klammer (Tatort) as Günther Kaufmann give particularly intense and touching performances as some of Fassbinder’s most passionate romances.

ENFANT TERRIBLE is a fascinating and rule breaking biopic that is engrossing, provocative, and consuming work that is difficult to look away from. If you are a person who loves art and film making, it inspires you to throw away the rule book and make your own way. It makes you want to be punk and question all your drives and motivations. I wouldn’t really say whether Werner himself would like this, too much exposure of his inner self, but I think he would appreciate its spirit of anarchy.

ENFANT TERRIBLE is in theatres now and was released by Dark Star Pictures. Due to its opening weekend popularity, the release has been expanded in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Virtual screenings are available. Here’s a list:

Laemmle NoHo (Playing Now, Physical) — https://www.laemmle.com/film/enfant-terrible

- Laemmle Virtual (5/14, NY & CA) — https://watch.laemmle.com/videos/enfantterrible21371/6076227a2fac90000101c18e/

- Cinemapolis Virtual (5/14, NY) — https://cinemapolis.org/film/enfant-terrible/

- Tivoli @ Nelson Atkins Virtual (5/14, MO) — https://watch.eventive.org/enfantterrible/play/60909cb1826f8a13f6605fac

- Frida Cinema Virtual (5/14, CA) — https://watch.eventive.org/thefridacinema/play/6091aa19c630c7004c8eef61

- VIFF Film Center Virtual (5/14, Vancouver BC) — https://viff.org/Online /default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=fc10737-enfant-terrible

- Cleveland Cinematheque Virtual (5/14, OH) — https://watch.eventive.org/enfantterrible/play/608b96a9c07d05006912a05c

- FilmOut San Diego Virtual (5/20, CA) — https://watch.eventive.org/enfantterrible/play/60876094bdf7ed003e82c503

- Berlin & Beyond San Francisco Virtual (5/25, CA) — https://berlinbeyond.com/25/

- Zeitgeist Film Center Physical (5/28, New Orleans) — https://www.zeitgeistnola.org

- Goethe Pop Up Seattle Virtual (6/23, WA) — https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/gps.html