Händler der vier Jahreszeiten (The Merchant of Four Seasons) (1971)
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92% of critics liked it
(13 reviews) -
43% want to see it
(735 ratings)
Der Händler der vier Jahreszeiten (The Merchant of Four Seasons) is about the deterioration of a man's soul. Fruit vendor Hans (Hans Hirschmüller) cannot please his family. His mother harps on his failures. His wife is openly discontent. He must peddle produce to his beloved ex-girlfriend, and… More Der Händler der vier Jahreszeiten (The Merchant of Four Seasons) is about the deterioration of a man's soul. Fruit vendor Hans (Hans Hirschmüller) cannot please his family. His mother harps on his failures. His wife is openly discontent. He must peddle produce to his beloved ex-girlfriend, and he is mocked by his customers for being shorter and fatter than his wife. He is withdrawn, crushed, and humiliated. He turns to drinking and violence, but his rage causes his wife and daughter to leave him. While desperately begging for their return, Hans suffers a debilitating heart attack. His family comes back, but Hans is unable to work and must hire help for his fruit stand. Hans' first employee is his wife's ex-lover, whom he fires for embezzling. He then hires a friend and hero from his legionnaire days, Harry (Klaus Löwitsch), out of pity. Harry is hardworking, diligent, and clever. He turns Hans' business around and enlivens his home life. Harry's success also begins to displace Hans -- with his fruit stand, with his wife, and even with his child. Hans becomes useless, a nothing -- exactly what his mother, his wife, and those around him set him up to be. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, Rovi
- Directed By
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Written By
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
Unrated,
Critic Reviews
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Nora Sayre, New York Times
This soggy picture allows the disintegration of a human being to be almost as dull as the way he earns his living -- and that is appalling.
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Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Rainer Werner Fassbinder has a genius for detailing the pain of suppressed emotional states, and even at its most achingly deliberate, his style in dealing with the petit bourgeois mentality is a source of endless fascination.
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Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
An unforgettable cantata, raspy and plangent, every composition attuned to circles of torment and frustration
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
What makes [Fassbinder's] vision so riveting, however, is its brutal honesty, brilliant theatricality, and masterly cinematic execution.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The soul-sucking nature of capitalism drives this brilliant film, but the rich characters and the almost constant tension keep it emotionally resonant.
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Cast
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Harry Baer
as Candidate
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Hark Bohm
as Policeman
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Ingrid Caven
as The merchant's great love
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Peter Chatel
as Doctor
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Irm Hermann
as Irmgard Epp
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Hans Hirschmüller
as Hans Epp
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Gusti Kreissl
as Mother
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Klaus Lowitsch
as Harry
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Lilo Pempeit
as Customer
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El Hedi ben Salem
as The Arab
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Karl Scheydt
as Anzell
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Andrea Schober
as Child
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Hanna Schygulla
as First sister
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Elga Sorbas
as Marile Kosemund
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Rainer Werner Fassbinder
as Zucker
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Kurt Raab
as Brother-in-law
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Daniel Schmid
as Candidate
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Michael Fengler
as Playboy
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Walter Sedlmayr
as Fruit cart salesman
