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The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
8.5
/10
3,450 Ratings

THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT

Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant

Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
West Germany, 1972
Drama, LGBTQ+

Synopsis

Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer—arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She’s in a fairly satisfactory S&M relationship with her assistant, Marlene. But when she develops an obsession with fashion model Karin, things become far more complicated, and love intermingles with hate.

Synopsis

Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer—arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She’s in a fairly satisfactory S&M relationship with her assistant, Marlene. But when she develops an obsession with fashion model Karin, things become far more complicated, and love intermingles with hate.

Our take

Recently adapted by François Ozon in a gender-flipped take, Fassbinder’s all-female melodrama is a fiery and fervent love-and-hate story for the ages. A sly game of power that breathes excess as much as it displays masterful control, you best brace yourselves for a cinema of unparalleled intensity.