Le rôti de Satan

This is Fassbinder going for slapstick comedy, sort of. Everybody seems to have taken too much coffee or something in this movie. As I had seen some of his heavier stuff, this came as a very welcome surprise, with a quicker pace and some belly laughs. One of his best!

If this film were made in English, I have no doubt it would be a cult classic. Fassbinder ups the comedic ante more-so than I've ever seen him do before. Granted it's still black humour, but its his own blend of slapstick and dark comedy. Picture a. theater of the absurd, almost put forth as a farce, but with Fassbinder's usual biting sarcasm and cynicism, and ultimately leading to an eruption of statements about the psychological limitations of admiration and desire. A familiar theme in Fassbinder's work. In fact, the whole movie plays like a joy ride through professional and relative oblivion, only the characters and the actors seem to be enjoying themselves throughout countless identity crisis, dead flies posing as relatives, simulated sexual murder and what-not. Heh.

I definitely understand, that this film is not for everyone, but I also have to say it is one of my all time favorites and there are not many movies i have seen that often. In fact every time somebody new steps into my live, I have to watch this movie with him, and i saw every possible reaction meanwhile.

But still, this is my favorite Fassbinder movie and this for several reasons. The most important of these is, that the movie has a rhythmical quality from the beginning to the end. Also there are literally hundreds of remarkable quotes inside. It is black humorous, funny and the overacting is terrific. It is amazing how Fassbinder manages to change the mood radically from scene to scene, how he is playing with emotion, speed and dynamic.

Of course people who are interested in Fassbinders historic post war movies and expect something like that will be disappointed, but if anybody is interested in the absurd elements, that appear in most of Fassbinders movies, Satansbraten gives you the possibility to enjoy them to the fullest. So get some friends, watch this movie and have a good time seeing lots of grown up people jumping around and repeating words for at least three times. Geld Geld Geld.

I can't give Fassbinder less than a 6 or 7 for anything. this "screwball comedy" effort is nothing if not unique. it has a very fast "noises off" type quality and might play better on stage with lightning quick changes/entrances and exits etc.

as it is... it's not unamusing but I have to admit I was ... not any more impressed with it the 2nd time I saw it than I was the first. "mannered" would be another word to describe it. the phrase "busy busy busy" also comes to mind. it would not have suffered from having the Volker "Ficken Fliegen" character removed and the enormouos number of times people spit at one another might have been lessened to no loss of comedic effect.

for me "the bitter tears of petra von kant" is a brilliant but very black comedy. this more overt "haha" attempt to deliver laughs... falls short in a lot of ways, leaving various components with elements left to be desired shall we say... yeah I guess I feel certain that a somewhat toned down version of this film would be a superior one.

still just for originality I'll give it a 7

In the case you've seen a lot of Fassbinder's films, this is worth a shot. You will definitely not be bored, so there's that. The film can be abrasive and there really aren't any likable characters. If you don't like that kind of stuff then avoid this. I can't blame you. I hated the first hour, then I reluctantly started respecting it, realizing that it was a satire and black comedy not a straight drama, pi**ing on the myth of the artistic genius and the wide berth we grant them (or did before the Me Too movement).

This protagonist actually reminded me a lot Pablo Picasso, a notorious wife-beater and all around jerk. Of course no would pay to see their sacred cows brought down a peg, so we have stand-ins like this guy. But the critique still works.

It's a biographical film, but not of the typical hacky kind that every director seems to make. Fassbinder had undoubtedly seen a lot of sycophants and brainless hangers-on in his life, self-aware enough to sense how full of **** people were when they were in the presence of a celebrity, knowing that he really could only trust a few people, compelled to "develop" and chronically produce or become irrelevant. Fassbinder would know. He died after making forty films in a decade, his heart exploding from too much coke.