In the Year of 13 Moons (In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden) (1978)

60% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(2,352 ratings)

This Rainer Werner Fassbinder drama centers around the lonely quest for love of Elvira Weishaupt, a man who became a woman to please his/her man. Just prior to that, Elivira had been jilted by her previous live-in partner, a man. She does the operation to win the heart of another, Anton.… More This Rainer Werner Fassbinder drama centers around the lonely quest for love of Elvira Weishaupt, a man who became a woman to please his/her man. Just prior to that, Elivira had been jilted by her previous live-in partner, a man. She does the operation to win the heart of another, Anton. Unfortunately, the sex-change operation does not change the intended's mind; Anton is simply not interested. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 9 min.
Directed By: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Written By: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Nov 17, 1978 Wide
On DVD: Apr 13, 2004

Critic Reviews

Vincent Canby, New York Times
Quintessential Fassbinder.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The subject invites easy compassion and pity, but Fassbinder's icy camera style keeps us at arm's length, calling up a much more complex response.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The story is as bizarre as Fassbinder himself seems to have been, cluing us into the darker side of his private life.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's a passionate and messy film portraying loneliness, societal cruelties and victimization as powerful as its ever been presented on the screen.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Far-fetched and ultimately small, Fassbinder ties to put a metaphysical and cosmological wrapper arond all of this, leading to a very muddy experience.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
One bizarre film, even for Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Comes down to a series of operatic examinations of questions pertaining to free will, chance, cause and effect, moral responsibility, self-sacrifice and spiritual atonement.