The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

Monday, August 29 - Thursday, September 1, 2022

50th Anniversary! NY premiere of a new digital restoration!

In the early 1970s, Rainer Werner Fassbinder discovered the American melodramas of Douglas Sirk and was inspired by them to begin working in a new, more intensely emotional register. One of the first and best-loved films of this period in his career is The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, which balances a realistic depiction of tormented romance with staging that remains true to the director’s roots in experimental theater. This unforgettable, unforgiving dissection of the imbalanced relationship between a haughty fashion designer (Margit Carstensen) and a beautiful but icy ingenue (Hanna Schygulla)—based, in a sly gender reversal, on the writer-director’s own desperate obsession with a young actor—is a true Fassbinder affair, featuring exquisitely claustrophobic cinematography by Michael Ballhaus and full-throttle performances by an all-female cast.

Screening as part of our series Fassbinder’s BITTER TEARS + More, in anticipation of the opening of Francois Ozon’s gender-swapped reimagining of a Rainer Werner Fassbinder masterwork PETER VON KANT

• Country West Germany
• Language In Germany with English subtitles
• Year 1972
• Running Time 125 minutes
• Format DCP
• Distributor Janus
• Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder
• Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.