Angst Essen Seele auf (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul)

Angst Essen Seele auf (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul) (1974)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (21 reviews)

  • 89% of users liked it
    (5,720 ratings)

Rainer Werner Fassbinder not only directed Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Angst essen Seele auf), but also scripted the film, designed the sets, and produced. Brigitte Mira heads the cast as a lonely German cleaning woman, who enters into an affair with equally lonely--and much, much younger--Moroccan… More

Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Written By
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Genres
Drama
In Theaters
Mar 5, 1974 Wide
On DVD
Jun 10, 2003
New Yorker Films

Critic Reviews

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    This 1974 film stands as one of Fassbinder's sturdiest achievements, posed between the low-budget funkiness of his early features and the mannerism of his late period.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Technically flawless, deceptively simple and avoiding excesses, it is about problems that are timely and timeless in implications.

  • Vincent Canby, New York Times

    It is, rather, another quite courageous attempt by Mr. Fassbinder to develop a film style free of the kind of realistic conventions that sentimentalize life's mysteries.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    Ali: Fear Eats the Soul might sound like improbable, contrived soap opera. It doesn't play that way.

  • , Film4

    A powerful attempt to deal with a range of serious issues as well as the characters' own complex psychologies. Visually and dramatically intense, it remains one of Fassbinder's finest.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

  • Bob S


    Very touching movie. Emmi is one of the great screen heroines.

  • Michael S


    One of cinema's most unconventional love stories is also one of the most touching and authentic I've ever seen. A simple and sweet little triumph from Fassbinder, with Brigitte Mira giving a completely unforgettable performance.

  • Graham J


    For sure in my all time top 5. The first time I watched this I was glued to the screen. It totally took me by surprise. The scene where Fassbinder cameos as the son-in-law objecting to the relationship is perfect.

  • Reid V


    Although I can clearly see what Fassbinder was going for, I believe it could have been executed much better. As it is meant to expose the unjust racial discrimination and the social stigma that came along with miscegenation in the early 1970's, Fassbinder could have benefitted… More

  • Stella D


    more than 30 years old but it could've happened yesterday. one of the most simple and affecting love stories i've ever seen

Read all 14 featured audience ratings

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