“The ‘Katzelmacher' (Bavarian slang for a sexually potent ‘gastarbeiter') is a Greek immigrant worker, played by Fassbinder himself in his second feature, who takes a room in a Munich apartment block. The interest he raises amongst its bored and listless occupants springs first from curiosity and then from malice as he catalyzes their intolerances and fear of outsiders. Another Fassbinder low-life melodrama with savage overtones, it stars Hanna Schygulla who he was later to help establish as the ‘most exciting new German star since Marlene Dietrich' in The Marriage of Maria Braun.
“‘Short, engrossing and relatively simple, Katzelmacher makes a terrific Fassbinder primer. In the bizarre sexual relations it depicts, one can discern an outline of his future concerns--concerns that would one day lead him to this curious manifesto: “I am more convinced than ever that love is the best, most insidious, most effective instrument of social repression”'(Stephen Schiff).” --Richard Kwietniowski

Note: PFA joins the international film community in mourning the tragic death of R.W. Fassbinder. We will present a memorial tribute to this prolific and influential artist in late August.