Fox and His Friends

Fassbinder stars in this bleak exposé of the socioeconomic and psychic sadomasochism that is, for him, at the core of the human condition. The titular Fox is a déclassé, leather-clad carnival entertainer who becomes a prime target for predatory suitors after he wins the lottery, and his Sade-esque journey from lumpenprole afterthought to exploited and discarded piece of meat ranks among the most affecting examples of Fassbinder’s righteously indignant moralism. One of the great tragedies of the modern European cinema, Fox and His Friends extends Fassbinder’s obsession with confronting the essential maliciousness of love under capitalism and suggests several unsettling resonances with its director’s abbreviated life.