Rainer Werner Fassbinder shot no fewer than four films in 1975, so it’s not surprising some of his best work – like this – can get drowned out.
Made for TV with regular Scorsese DoP Michael Ballhaus, this is a unique blend of emotional frankness, Loach-style social insight and brutal fates straight out of a Thomas Hardy novel.
Vitus Zeplichal is superb as a labourer who buys into the ’70s consumerist dream a little too much, with tragic results – but it’s Fassbinder’s eye for detail and psychology that drives things home.
Central extra is a thorough hour-long doc.
