Film Review
With half a dozen full-length films under his belt, Rainer Fassbinder
had his first commercial success with
The
Merchant of Four Seasons, an incredibly poignant study of a man destined to
fail that serves as a powerful indictment of the capitalist system and
our increasingly materialistic society. Not only is this
Fassbinder's most technically accomplished work up until this time, but
it is also his most thoughtful and provocative, and it is easy to see
why many consider it to be his masterpiece.
Here, Fassbinder's familiar stylisation (which combines the technique
of Brechtian distancing with Sirkian expressionism) works
beautifully to draw us into the inner world of the central protagonist,
skilfully portrayed by Hans Hirschmüller. The character Hans
Epp is a perpetual outcast who can never live up to the expectations of
those who know him. He is judged not by who he is but by how he
lives his life and how much money he can earn. It is only when he
ceases to be a worker and becomes an employer that he wins the grudging
respect of his kin. Through Hans, we see the dehumanising
influence and absurdity of the soulless capitalist system, of a world where
material wealth is the sole criterion by which men are judged.
Hans's unwillingness or inability to submit to the deadening yoke of capitalism is what
prevents him from having a meaningful identity in the world he lives
in. This sense of alienation is emphasised repeatedly by the
unusual camerawork and the excessively artificial reactions of the
other characters, all of which serve to make Hans appear to be the
perpetual outsider. Yet he is the only character we can identify
with, the only one with any substance and truth. He is a creature
of instinct, not an automaton with a cash register constantly clicking
in his mind. When he tries to become like those around him, it is
an admission of failure, and his descent into self-destruction is
inevitable. Man cannot live by bread alone.
© James Travers 2009
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Next Rainer Werner Fassbinder film:
Angst essen Seele auf (1974)
Film Synopsis
Hans Epp is a man in his early thirties who makes a modest living by
selling fruit from a barrow in the back streets of Munich. His
family are embarrassed by him and consider him a failure. Hans's
downfall began when he was dismissed from the police force after being
caught in an uncompromising position with a streetwalker. A spell
in the French foreign legion didn't appear to do him any good
either. Not long after his wife walks out on him, Hans has a
heart attack and is warned that he will die unless he leads a less
physically strenuous life. He employs another man to sell his
fruit and manages to make a nice tidy profit. This development
delights his family, who are now glad that he has begun to make
something of his life. But Hans's commercial success does not
bring happiness. Unable to find meaning in his life, Hans slips
further and further into depression...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.