Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)

Emmi, a woman truly in the second half of life falls in love with Ali, an more than ten years younger Arab guest worker.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Written By: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Irm Hermann, Brigitte Mira, Barbara Valentin, El Hedi ben Salem, Lilo Pempeit, Doris Mattes, Elma Karlowa, Margit Symo, Anita Bucher, Gusti Kreissl, Katharina Herberg
AKA: Angst essen Seele auf
Country: West Germany
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Ali: Fear Eats the Soul belongs to 78 collections
1. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (collaborative: moderated by kozan26 - 236 stars)
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Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
6 | ![]() |
Suture Self | 10 96th |
An interior view of jealousy, hatred, and prejudice. The irony in the movie is that prejudice isn't overcome through a change of heart, but through self-serving necessity: Emmi's racist son needing his child watched; or a racist store clerk needing Emmi's business; or gossipy neighbors needing Ali's help with heavy-lifting. While the movie's heart is always front and center, it would be too glib to call it simple. It's powerful, loving, complex, compositionally astounding, and a joy to watch.
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5 | ![]() |
hehejaja | 85 84th |
Uncovered and spellbinding. Lingering close-ups of the protagonists' faces ask for painstaking empathy and meditative long shots evoke existential reflection. Dramatic in a low-voiced manner. Elegant, but rough.
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doctor7 | 95 98th |
Excellent use of mise en scene. Packed with visual imagery and emotional truth. The unusual bond between Ali and Emmi unfolds in an uncomfortable but touching fashion. Brilliant film.
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MartinTeller | 90 94th |
Fassbinder borrows from Sirk's film, but makes it his own. He boils it down a pure essence. As a result, this unconventional romance is as genuine and touching as any other on film. Much of the credit here belongs to Mira and Salem, who create such sympathetic characters. The handling of racial issues is perhaps simplistic, and yet that contributes to the film's power, the message of hope in the face of adversity. Also some wonderful cinematography, with vivid colors and striking use of space.
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KlausGlenski | 85 89th |
Most likely this is one of the best German movies ever made. When one watches this might sound exaggerated since this movie doesnt come along like art in any way. It appears pretty real and unsettling and nothing else. And the actors really push this feeling of 70s reality with their emotional work. Besides, its very impressing that Fassbinder wrote this, directed it, produced it, was responsible for the music and acted as a perfect German asshole in this movie.
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Moribunny | 98 99th |
So powerful! Everything that happens or is uttered in this movie is unnaturaly concise, and the photography with its loud colors and picturesque compositions is just as unreal. Fassbinder does such things elsewhere but here they are at their sharpest and most iconoclastic. The Fassbinderian form of a cooled-down, minimalist melodrama complements this story perfectly and lends it a poetic quality.
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Pickpocket | 3 28th |
For a movie that is known for its subtlety it really beats you to death with its obvious and boredom inducing message. The acting is possibly the worst I've ever seen in my life and this is coming from someone who's seen multiple Rob Schneider movies. It would've been comical if they weren't so damn serious but Fassbinder clearly thinks this is really some deep shit but I "got" it within 15 minutes and it just becomes an exercise in masturbation. Not 100% terrible but way too overpraised.
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Alex Watkins | 4 70th |
The racial themes are a bit heavy handed at times (though they become more complex later in the film), but the romance is subtle and touching in a way that few other films can compare to. Sad without being overbearing and not without a sense of hope. And the photography is absolutely beautiful; Sirk's influence shows in every shot.
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PeaceAnarchy | 85 81st |
A thoughtful insightful film about an unconventional relationship. Fassbinder shows some real insight into his characters and presents some flawed but very real people. I felt it kind of lost it's way in the last half hour, but it was still very good.
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roujin | 80 92nd |
Incredibly touching. True to life and filled with melodrama in the best sense of the word.
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amerigo | 80 69th |
It's unusual and brilliantly constructed, but there is something ultimately hollow about the emotional humanity uncovered here. Maybe that's the point, maybe I just don't like New German Cinema for that reason, but while structurally and conceptually sound, the film is not compelling for me. (Extra points added for the film being ahead of its time in terms of the thematics addressed here. )
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Shmendrek | 5 96th |
With Ali, Fassbinder handles a myriad of difficult subjects with grace and humanity. The chemistry between Mira and Salem is unparalleled and it makes for one of the better love stories I've ever seen.
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Dean Franz | 14 13th |
So... tolerance is a good thing? Way to blow me away, Fassbinder. This was the first movie of his that I saw, and probable the reason why I can't seem to find the motivation to really sink my teeth into his filmography.
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Noblet | 85 84th |
Sometimes lacking in any subtlety in its portrayal of racism, but really great in every other way.
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FlipWhitman | 85 80th |
I swear vengeance on the coward that told me this was about Muhammad Ali!
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loc42 | 100 99th |
I didn't watch anything more sincere than this movie about the loneliness, and at the same time the movie keeps its distance from the characters with a great aesthetic endeavor.
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JSchlansky | 80 77th |
Finally a movie that depicts the dark reality of people purchasing drinks and then not drinking them.
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1 | DuaneNeitzel | 100 98th |
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One of the saddest and strangest love stories ever. Rainer Werner Fassbinder at his very best.
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CCLZA | 90 95th |
Heartbreaking in the depiction of human's darkest sides thoughout simple, subtle scenes that leave you thinking about the meaning of society in one's life.
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djross | 70 76th |
It's true that this is a compassionate film employing economical storytelling, a restrained but meaningful use of the camera, a reserved approach to characterisation and good performances. It is also true that a significant amount of the running time is spent on the revelation that bitchy women and selfish grownup children rarely concede their own flaws. Nevertheless, the subtlety and complexity of the filmmaker's approach gradually develops a certain amount of poetic power. Those Germans!
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TheDiceman | 70 82nd |
Very good.
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Nathan S | 3 45th |
Its themes are simple and pretty overt, but Fassbinder brings weight with two original, sympathetic characters. It is an unconventional, yet strangely touching romance.
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AFlickering | 4 57th |
social stuff is as heavy-handed as haynes' (including the ironic switch to opportunistic pandering), but the final act is richer: love that ali isn't a saintly subversion of stereotypes, and he's objectified/exoticised not only by the camera but emmi herself, who like germany is trying to be better but talks about der führer with a lil too much nostalgia. they're basically tender and sincere people, the other stuff flaring up now and again like an ulcer--it's the stress and the fear, y'see.
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JooJoo | 7 99th |
I can't imagine Fassbinder outdoing the visual awareness he portrays here - it is essential to the story. A slow-burning masterpiece and probably the best introduction anyone could have to Fassbinder's world.
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Enthusiast | 75 67th |
Strange mixture of beautifully realized shots with astoundingly obvious shots, set against one of the most expansive and well-defined palettes of muted colors that I can ever recall. The story is naive as fuck, and towards the end stops trying entirely, but the ponderous photography will have you totally convinced there's something profound lurking below.
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Detox | 86 84th |
I don't see why this film should be more subtle with its way it shows racism.
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wetwillies | 90 80th |
It's the photography that seals the deal for me: framing the characters through doorways, or hiding them among a sea of yellow tables. I love the way it takes All That Heaven Allows and updates it to fit a completely different culture. The performances are great.
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1 | waddayanuts | 42 3rd |
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Fassbinder's exaggerated style with heavy-handed symbolism and stiff acting undermines the purposed satire. The racist society depicted here is too extreme to relate to and the lack of proper character motivation makes the love story unbelievable. A more subtle style would have worked much better. As is, it's ultimately a rather dull and irrelevant film.
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1 | Noam Raz | 70 70th |
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Simplistic, like all the Germans, maybe life too.
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rickicker | 85 67th |
Probably one of the most earnest films I've ever seen.
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deep_green | 85 94th |
Among Fassbinder's most visually attractive films, and yet the sparseness that occupies every shot (extending to the script) is a great device for establishing open spaces that you can feel. I'm sure this is all very conducive to analysis, but analysis is not the first thing I feel like conducting so shortly after having seen it. The fact is, it is a very simple film, and much of its' power comes from not beating around the bush.
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Average Percentile 74.62% from 1413 Ratings | ![]() |