Rainer Werner Fassbinder is a difficult director for me to categorize. Some of his films I adore, such as "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" and "Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven" whereas I completely hate some of his films, such as "Querelle" and "Effi Briest". There seems to be no real middle ground for me and his films...though perhaps this one comes closest. It's an extremely cynical film...one that probably played better in its native Germany.
The film is set in Germany ten years after WWII ended. Most of the characters in the film are corrupt. While Lola is the most obviously corrupt since she's a prostitute, her lover and his friends in the government are really no better. For them, it's all about making money at any cost. However, an unimposing building commissioner is a cipher. He might just be a decent man...and Lola is bent on seducing him. Throughout the film it's uncertain as to whether or not corruption or decency will prevail...but given Fassbinder's track record, the very dark ending didn't surprise me at all...and that is the film's biggest weakness. Additionally, the picture is just not particularly enjoyable or likable. Now I don't need to like every film and every character in order to appreciate it, but to me this is just another dreary world created by Fassbinder, albeit not as dark and slow as many of his other films. Not my cup of tea, so to speak.
The film is set in Germany ten years after WWII ended. Most of the characters in the film are corrupt. While Lola is the most obviously corrupt since she's a prostitute, her lover and his friends in the government are really no better. For them, it's all about making money at any cost. However, an unimposing building commissioner is a cipher. He might just be a decent man...and Lola is bent on seducing him. Throughout the film it's uncertain as to whether or not corruption or decency will prevail...but given Fassbinder's track record, the very dark ending didn't surprise me at all...and that is the film's biggest weakness. Additionally, the picture is just not particularly enjoyable or likable. Now I don't need to like every film and every character in order to appreciate it, but to me this is just another dreary world created by Fassbinder, albeit not as dark and slow as many of his other films. Not my cup of tea, so to speak.