Fassbinder at his most relentlessly bleak and depressing, counteracted somewhat by Michael Ballhaus' always-appealing cinematography at it's most lavishly baroque (lots of mirrors and windows). Audiences who have trouble with the director's depiction of women will have a field day with this one, and they'd sort of have a point if the male characters weren't also uniformly awful (including a typically doltish and pathetic turn from Kurt Raab as the titular stationmaster).

More of the sensitive, attentive drama that I expect from this director; probably the most direct of his Döblin influence before Alexanderplatz, which is not a bad thing. Very impressive camerawork & roles from the Fassbinder regulars [an early one from Udo Kier, too]. It's a shame no one has yet to release the televised version, even if nothing much feels missing in the shorter cut until the slightly abrupt end.