Now that Fassbinder is Secret Movie Club's 2021 Director of the year, we are working to show as many of our his greatest works as possible across the rest of the year.

What better place to start than 1974's overwhelming, beautiful, brutal Ali Fear Eats The Soul .

Fassbinder always leaned into (rather than shied away from) the pressing social issues of his day. And here he examines the bi-racial relationship between a 60 year old German widow, Emmi, and a 39 Arab immigrant laborer, Ali.

When Emmi and Ali meet at a bar, develop a friendship, and fall in love, they are soon met with the disapproval, confusion, and subtle (and not so subtle) racism and xenophobia of everyone around them.

On top of this, they also must struggle with the difference in their ages and the natural strains, temptations, arguments that all couples must deal with in long term relationships.

Fassbinder creates one of his most surprisingly tender portraits here with the central love relationship but still brings the fire with his scathing observations of the hypocrisy, stress, and out and out hatred immigrants of any stripe must face when they decide to make their life in another country that both needs and resents them.

A film as insightful and topical today (unfortunately) as it was in 1974, Ali Fear Eats the Soul is one of Fassbinder's absolute best.