Watch "Fear Eats the Soul"

Velda 2022-03-24 09:03:48

"Fear eats the soul" is an Arabic proverb and the name of a movie.
Amy, a 60-year-old female cleaner, met Ali, a Moroccan who was 20 years younger than herself, in a bar because she was sheltering from the rain. Ali invited Amy to a dance and then sent Amy home. The two lonely people meet each other late, and talk to each other about their loneliness at Amy's house. The news that Amy was staying in a Moroccan worker spread quickly, and there was a lot of discussion around her. With the further development of Amy and Ali's relationship, they finally got married. The married life of the two suffered from the exclusion and slander of the people around them, which made them decide to go out on a trip to relax. After returning from the trip, the situation of the two of them "improved", but without the pressure from the outside world, the relationship between Amy and Ali has become a new wave due to the contradiction between the two...
"Fear Eats the Soul" is A film by German film master Fassbender in 1974 won the Fabisi Award at the 27th Cannes Film Festival that year. In 1974, Germany was still divided between East and West Germany. The story took place in Munich. In order to vigorously develop the economy, the then West German government hired a large number of overseas workers. Although these foreign workers work diligently, in the eyes of Germans with a strong sense of national superiority, they are still just inferior people. At that time, if any German had close contact with these overseas workers, he would definitely be excluded and neglected by the people around him. In such a big background, the heroine Amy married a Moroccan laborer 20 years younger than herself, and a tortuous "exotic love" began.
In terms of the handling of plot points, "Fear Devouring the Soul" was created in accordance with the standards of the Hollywood film industry, and the storyline of the entire film is very clear. The first 20 minutes of the film mainly describe the encounter between Amy and Ali; from 20 minutes to 1 hour and 03 minutes, it focuses on the various exclusions and slanders that Amy and Ali received after their union; the last 30 minutes are about Amy and Ali. After returning from the trip, the people around them have a huge "change" in their attitude towards them, and because of the changes in the surrounding environment, they have new confusion and confusion.
The shooting scene of the whole film is very small, and the story basically takes place in several fixed rooms (a bit like "The Story of the Screenwriter's Department"). Influence, so that you can focus more on the inner world of the characters in the play. The whole film uses the door frame method on many occasions (whether Amy and Ali are together or they are alone), such as when Amy and Ali are drinking coffee at home, such as when Amy is looking for a store. When crossing the road after the boss theory "margarine"... The director consciously let the camera lens through the narrow door frame to get the images of Amy and Ali, confining them to a small space, artificially creating a kind of Visual suppression, in order to convey a strong message, is the extreme exclusion of the entire social environment for them, and their living space is actually very small, as small as a door frame. In addition to the door-frame style of shooting, many life segments of the film also reflect the reality that Amy and Ali are excluded everywhere. For example, the store owner deliberately made things difficult for Ali, pretended not to understand Ali's German (although Ali's German was already very good) and did not sell him margarine, for example, several female cleaners who worked with Amy learned that Amy After Mi and Ali were together, they stopped chatting with Amy or even sitting with her...
In fact, not only is the external environment so cold and cruel, but even Amy's biological children make us further appreciate this cruelty reality. "Are you sick? Mom. Because that's the reason for the official party." One of the sons said this as soon as Amy called up her three children and a son-in-law to tell them she was married. In a word. What a naked, frosty sentence, a mother only has reason to see her children when she is sick. Moreover, at such an important family gathering, the mother was actually standing, but the children were sitting on the chairs with a relaxed look, keeping a distance from Amy. Through such a lens, we can appreciate how estranged the children are from Amy. Such a distance is not only reflected in space, but also psychologically and spiritually.
When Amy told her children that she had married Ali, the camera began to move slowly, scanning the faces of the four people (three sons and one son-in-law) like a scanner, giving each one a face Great closeup. When they learned that Amy had married a foreign worker, the faces of the four were filled with consternation, indifference and incredulity. After a moment of silence, the children finally broke out collectively. The son Bruno stood up angrily and kicked the TV screen with his feet; another son said immediately: "This is a price drop, I don't want to have anything to do with prostitutes"; the daughter who finally left was indifferent to her husband Said, "Come on, Eugene, let's not stay in the pigsty." The ruthless words and deeds of the children completely overwhelmed Amy, who was sitting on the sofa crying bitterly, only Ali was stroking her quietly. The hair, this scene is extremely chilling.
The harsh real life finally makes Amy and Ali decide to go on a long trip, and when Amy tells Ali that they can leave for a trip, the camera lens slowly pushes Amy and Ali into the distance. Amy's words are more precisely the hearts that Amy and Ali want to escape, and they are slowly presented by the camera.
When Amy and Ali returned from their trip, the attitudes of the people around them seemed to have changed 180 degrees overnight. The female neighbors warmly greeted Amy who had just returned from a trip; the son who kicked the TV set came to Amy and paid Amy for the damage to the TV; the store owner took the initiative to pull Amy into the store to pull Homely, everything looks so beautiful... But is the actual situation really as intoxicating as a dream? It turns out that this is not the case, because everyone has their own little abacus in their hearts. The warm greetings from the female neighbors are so that they can put their belongings in Amy's storage room; the son comes to Amy so that Amy can take care of his own children; the store owner takes the initiative to meet Amy La's family because of the hypermarket The appearance of his business led to a lack of business in his small shop, and he had to take the initiative to make money. Through the art form of film, Fassbender shows the hypocrisy of human nature so vividly and deeply.
At the end of the film, Ali was admitted to the hospital with acute gastric perforation, and Amy tightly held Ali's hand lying on the sickbed, leaving us with a speechless ending. This is a typical feature of European art films, which often do not give specific and straightforward results, but leave room for the audience to think. The movie is over, but life is not over. "Fear Eats the Soul" vividly reveals the indifference, alienation and uncertainty about future life among people in Western society. The ugly face, the cold and fearful eyes, and the suppressed but unreleased psychology have been thoroughly demonstrated in the film. "Fear Devouring the Soul" has a clear and easy-to-understand narrative, and the form is popular and complete. It can be regarded as a rare masterpiece.

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Extended Reading
  • Dandre 2022-03-28 09:01:13

    Doors, windows, railings, glass, and even the camera screen separate the people who come and go in the film from the audience and the actor. Fassbinder tells a warm and easy-to-understand love story in the language of "container people". Considering this movie could be the best "The Outsider" if it was re-released Fassbinder fulfills his promise of "Let the movie and life never be separated" in the flat narrative and honest relative movie plot. Others are hell But when we are together, at least Make each other happy / "Fear Eats the Soul" was shot to fill the gap between the big productions. It only took fifteen days because the time was too short. Fassbender can only tell the truth. He erased all the ups and downs and left only the smooth and quiet despair

  • Clay 2022-03-23 09:03:29

    Attitudes change due to the transfer of interests, but what remains the same is the persistence of indifference, indifference, isolation, and hostility. How far can two loving hearts go under insurmountable background differences and prejudice gaps? A cloud of fear shrouds the light of the noble soul that man should have. The composition creates a narrow and cramped space to squeeze the soul, the delayed transition releases the aftertaste, which is lamentable, and the interlocking and deepening of the wave after wave is gradually deepened.

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul quotes

  • Emmi Kurowski: But when we're together, we must be nice to each other. Otheriwse, life's not worth living.

  • Emmi Kurowski: Maybe...

    Ali: Yes?

    Emmi Kurowski: Why don't you come up for a while? I'll make us a coffee, and maybe the rain will stop.

    Ali: I'd like to, but...

    Emmi Kurowski: People always say "but". And nothing ever changes.