Review of Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

The back story to Ali reveals interesting facts about the film. The man who played Ali was Fassbinder's lover. According to Ebert.com he stabbed three people and hung himself in jail. Ebert alludes to the possibility that the old woman is actually Fassbinder. Fassbinder had similar insecurities as the old woman so it is plausible that her character is based on Fassbinder.

This movie is simple, yet it has a powerfulness to it. The settings, the characters are simply put forward. The theme of xenophoia and racism make the film powerful. Perhaps the most dramatic scene is when the woman introduces Ali as her new husband. Her children are shocked. One kicks in the TV. They all walk out unable to accept that their mother has married a foreign worker. Despite this, Ali and the woman go away, when they return everyone seems to accept Ali and reconcile with the woman.

This film has significance for not only Germany, but all of the developed World who experience an influx of immigrants who work low wage jobs. It presents the predicament of Ali. It presents the racism of Germany against foreign workers. This film was made in the 1970s so, perhaps, racial tensions were more acute in those years. Yet, the film still has contemporary relevance. Germany and the European Union have strict immigration laws. This film clearly shows those issues.

This was one of Fassbinder early films. It was well received by critics. It definitely is a European Art house film. Compared to other Fassbinder films this one is similar. However, I like the Marriage of Maria Braun and Veronica Voss better. I think they have more emotional impact. The end of Ali isn't so jarring as the endings in Bruan or Voss. It simply leaves the hospital where Ali is convalescing. Still, it does present Ali's predicament and the choices that foreign workers have to make; stay in Germany and make low wages, but live in the industrialized World, or go back home to possible unemployment, low standard of living, and a host of other problems. Ali is one of the few films that take on the issue of foreign workers and all of the problems they endure.