Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer -- arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She mistreats Marlene (her secretary, maid, and co-designer). Enter Karin, a 23-year-old beauty who wants to be a model. Petra falls in love with Karin and invites her to move in.

Criterion has released the film and calls to our attention the "claustrophobic cinematography". Indeed, how can it be anything other than claustrophobic when we never leave the room? Much of the two hours takes place in a bed, with little beyond. This is quite a minimalism, and suggests the film is based on a stage play.

Fassbinder is known for his modern German interpretations of Douglas Sirk. This is one of his Sirk-inspired works. Maybe not his best, though that is all in the eye of the beholder. A second viewing may change my opinion on the matter.

"Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant" or "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant" is a West German film from almost 45 years ago and chronologically it is in the middle of writer and director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's prolific, but short-lived career. The cast is exclusively female. Men are only seen on photos or as naked statues. 3 of the 6 actresses in here were nominated or won German Film Awards for their roles here and these winners include lead actress Margit Carstensen, who plays the title character. Unfortunately, I personally did not find these 125 minutes too convincing. All this awards recognition is a bit of a joke. The actresses seem really lackluster, which is generally a problem with several of the directors' works. Of course, it can be one character's way to speak so boringly, but here everybody does it. And that is not realistic anymore. No passion, no enthusiasm, even in emotional moments. It surprises me to see that this is among Fassbinder's most known works. It is not a disaster by any means, but I felt it dragged on several occasions and the characters simply weren't interesting enough to watch for such a long time. The good thing with Fassbinder is always that he goes for realism instead of forced happy developments and endings, but even from the perspective of this being an early gay-themed film, I cannot see a lot of value.

There are some Fassbinder films I like and some I do not like. This one here falls among the latter and I do not recommend checking it out if you plan on getting into the man's work. Instead, a good start may be "Martha", another Fassbinder movie starring Margit Carstensen from a couple years later. This was a great watch. As for this one here, I believe the material is more fitting for a stage adaptation really if they add a bit more focus, cut out the many irrelevant moments and give it a more modern touch. This 1972 version does not do too much for me and that is why I think you should watch something else instead. Thumbs down. The only aspect that convinced me in here was the set decoration, which is almost always good in Fassbinder's films and this one is no exception.

Perhaps this film was controversial when it was first released--with its themes of bisexuality/lesbianism. However, in the 21st century it is no longer shocking. Because of this, the film can be examined NOT for its shock value but for its actual content and pacing. And, when seen in that light, the film seems VERY static and dull. I'm talking REAL dull. The characters talk and talk and talk and suffer from so MUCH angst. My idea of interesting is NOT watching a spoiled German woman get drunk and depressed! This movie is definitely for some tastes but not for all. Be forewarned! There are many better German films as well as Fassbinder films--try these first.