L'amore è più freddo della morte

Fassbinder's debut feature seems to be strongly influenced by early Godard films like Breathles or Band of Outsiders in both its gritty black and white style and references to the gangster/noir genres. But where Godard's characters have a playful sense of humor, trying to act their gangster fantasies wearing fedoras and poorly executing non-thought out crimes to the tune of a swinging soundtrack and beautiful woman, Love Is Colder than Death does all with a fridgid, robotic sense of cool. Every shot is like a black and white photo where the acting is like posing in front of mirror before the action (or one of the characters)gets executed. The film is pretty avante-garde in using mostly completely static shots and the characters pretty much act "too cool". They just stare at you as you're supposed to react, then when there's an action, you get surprised and realise it's still in the movie. Forget that the plot is simple, threadbare even, this is an atmosphere piece.

West Germany, during the cold war, a few years after the wall had been installed. Small time guy Franz ( played by 24 year old Fassbinder, uncredited ) wants to run his own operation, but the big guys have moved in, and want to take over his territory. They have sent Bruno ( Ulli Lommel ) to keep an eye on things. So bruno, Franz, and his girlfriend pal around together. One of the mob guys is Raoul (Howard Gaines), always shirtless, for some reason. Although if i had that body, i would be too. It's all very surreal... minimal script, long pauses, posing, slow movement. No real connection between many scenes. Written, and directed, and starring Rainer Fassbinder, one of his very early films. His last film, Querelle, is one of his better known works. His films usually have a dark, sinister side, with violence, or seedy locations. Sadly, Fassbinder died young at 37 of a drug overdose. It's pretty good. Fassbinder fans will love it. It's ony one hour 28 minutes, but it feels longer with so little dialogue.

R.W. Fassbinder's debut feature Love is Colder Than Death was shot on a very limited budget and it shows. For the most part Fassbinder seems to have made the lack of budget work for him rather than against him however. Faced with a lack of funds, Fassbinder apparently decided to make this film as austere as possible. The film is shot in black and white but it uses less blacks and greys than any other film I can think of; the use of white (especially in backgrounds) adds to the film's stark tone as does the lack of camera movement. I've never seen a film in the crime genre that utilizes long takes and the stationary camera the way this one does.

In general I don't like crime movies that focus solely on the criminals but I found this one fascinating because these people didn't seem to be acting out of the usual petty motivations; rather, each of the three main characters seemed to be harboring a hatred for mankind. This is expressed in the contempt they show when they steal some trivial items in a store; rather than quietly pocket these things they choose to go to elaborate means to distract the shopkeepers and steal things right in front of them. It's not enough to take something from someone else: they also have to prove their superiority while making their victim into a fool. I found their misanthropy horrifyingly fascinating and that alone sets this film apart from other, similar films.

This film has been compared to the work of Jean Luc Godard and with good reason: these characters reminded me of the ones in films like Breathless and Pierrot Le Fou. Still, the characters in Love is Colder than Death are fundamentally different from the ones in those films because Godard's characters come across as lazy and selfish people who can't fit in while Fassbinder's characters come across as more ideologically motivated nihilist misanthropes.

The film's Spartan aesthetic is used to accentuate the characters' cynical attitudes in at least a couple of ways. The characters are often seen in front of structures so white they resemble the void: thus the exterior of the places they inhabit reflects the emptiness felt by these people who have no purpose or emotion. Another nice touch is the lack of visual representation of the gunshot wounds. At first it seemed like this lack could be entirely explained by budgetary concerns but on further reflection that's just silly: Fassbinder didn't have to show the bodies after they were shot but he usually did because he had a purpose in doing so. The gunshots seem to have had no effect because the shooters have no empathy for their victims, they care so little about them that the wounds don't even register with them.

'Liebe ist kalter als der Tod (= German for 'love is colder than death'), from 1969, is Rainer Werner Fassbinder's first film.

Shot in black and white, it sometimes shows a little 'wooden' and imperfect. Nevertheless it surely contains all well-known Fassbinder features: a very German setting, slow speed, serious, with a strong touch of realism & pessimism.

Although Fassbinder himself extensively acts, female lead Hanna Schygulla by far adds the greatest value here. After 'Liebe', she should feature in many other Fassbinder-productions.

This film's somewhat weird title nevertheless fully covers its joyless plot. Strangely this lack of fun is somehow accentuated by Schygulla's brief nude appearances. They make an unusual contrast, already revealing Fassbinder's genius at this early stage in his career.

If Rainer Werner Fassbinder catches your attention, this first feature just might well be worth a mention, as it makes an introduction, to some actors and production, the director went to use with great effect. While the themes are quite generic and seen before, the reflection is distinct, some will adore, the inventive presentation, the budget scenes shot with invention, all in all, boundaries pushed out, to clear the floor.

From a director that went on to create some of the finest films of the last century, a take on the often spun theme of the seedier side of society, as a couple of low grade villains get into some capers, ably supported by their a lady of the night, the perpetually wonderful Hanna Schygulla.