Enfant Terrible

Even in his early twenties, Rainer Werner Fassbinder proved himself a visionary but complicated artist. This was already evident when he stormed the stage of the Antiteater in Munich in 1967 and unceremoniously usurped the production. At the time, however, no one had any idea of the career he would have and the significance he would one day have for the German cinema landscape. But with his very brash but also engaging manner, he soon managed to gather around him a group of actors and actresses who helped him create the films with which he was able to make a name for himself at festivals such as Cannes and the Berlinale. The filmmaker Fassbinder seems unstoppable. But with his fits of rage, self-destructive work mania and rampant drug use, he keeps getting in his own way - and that doesn't remain without consequences.

The title "Enfant Terrible" is not only a perfect fit for Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who is convincingly embodied here by Oliver Masucci. It also applies to Oskar Roehler, the director of this cinematic bow to Fassbinder, who is not without reason considered a particularly maladjusted, eccentric filmmaker. Anyone expecting a typical biopic from him will be very surprised at what Roehler has brought to the screen here. His film is - which suits the person of Rainer Werner Fassbinder very well - difficult and artistically challenging. The whole thing, with its seemingly deliberately cheap-looking cardboard sets and the over-the-top acting of some of the actors, is more reminiscent of a theatrical production than a major motion picture.

Here, everything seems somehow artificial - and perhaps because of that, very authentic. With plenty of raunchy drama and cynical humor, the film takes viewers through some of the stages of the seminal director's life and work. No question: Roehler's production is exhausting. But in its consistently idiosyncratic manner, it is the only correct way to approach an exceptional artist like Fassbinder. Not everyone will be able to relate to it - as has always been the case with Fassbinder's films. But for those who succeed, "Enfant Terrible" is guaranteed to be a very successful tribute to one of Germany's most important filmmakers.

I'll be honest: I didn't succeed. I struggled through this work and more than once toyed with the idea of leaving the cinema early. But watching the film also made me realize why many of my colleagues were so taken with Roehler's portrait of Fassbinder. I think it's good that Roehler didn't go the usual route, but created something entirely his own. The fact that it just wasn't my thing doesn't change the fact that "Enfant Terrible" goes exactly the right way artistically and should therefore be called absolutely successful. Therefore, there is also a clear from me (not personally, but as a film critic): worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp