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Information

A.k.a.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Year
1974
Runtime
92 min.
Director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Genres
Drama, Romance
Rating *
8.0
Votes *
14,318
Checks
4,711
Favs
615
Dislikes
28
Favs/checks
13.1% (1:8)
Favs/dislikes
22:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. pentagrammaa's avatar

    pentagrammaa

    I disagree completely. Simple but powerful like a sledgehammer. 12 years 9 months ago
  2. IanWass's avatar

    IanWass

    Like the offspring of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and Harold and Maude, but for the realist intersectional German New Cinema crowd. 9 years 3 months ago
  3. Siskoid's avatar

    Siskoid

    1974's Munich in Rainer Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a racist world where its two protagonists, a lonely older German woman and a younger Moroccan immigrant nicknamed Ali, face near constant prejudice for their unorthodox relationship... and it's entirely depressing that this could have been made today, in almost any Western country, and we wouldn't have thought it out of place. It is especially well-observed in the way racist (and ageist) attitudes crop up in the two leads as well, once the honeymoon stage is over. And do we, the audience, ascribe Ali any sinister motives for apparently falling for an older woman? Or if not sinister, at least pragmatical? Ali isn't an eloquent character - his German is clumsy - which makes him a figure of mystery and poignancy. The human drama is quite strong, but of course, it's Fassbinder. His mastery of color and composition also makes this a great film to look at. 5 years ago
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In 13 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #16 in Roger Ebert's Great Movies
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    Roger Ebert's Great Movi…

    16
  2. This movie ranks #32 in iCheckMovies's 1970s Top 100
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    iCheckMovies's 1970s Top…

    32
  3. This movie ranks #34 in Time Out's The 101 Most Romantic Films
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    Time Out's The 101 Most …

    34
  4. This movie ranks #41 in IMDb's 1970s Top 50
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    IMDb's 1970s Top 50

    41
  5. This movie ranks #43 in The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die
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    The Guardian's 1000 Film…

    43
  6. This movie ranks #52 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
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    Sight & Sound's The Grea…

    52
  7. This movie ranks #54 in Kinemathekverbund's The 100 Most Important German Films
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    Kinemathekverbund's The …

    54
  8. This movie ranks #104 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
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    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    104
  9. This movie ranks #242 in The Criterion Collection
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    The Criterion Collection

    242
  10. This movie ranks #332 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
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    Time Out's 1000 Films to…

    332
  11. This movie ranks #337 in Mark Cousins's The Story of Film: An Odyssey
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    Mark Cousins's The Story…

    337
  12. This movie ranks #344 in BFI's 360 Classic Feature Films Project
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    BFI's 360 Classic Featur…

    344
  13. This movie ranks #577 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
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    577
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