A rather sweet, yet powerful love story, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a reworking of Douglas Sirk’s 1955 masterpiece, All That Heaven Allows. An unapologetic weepy, Sirk’s film concerns a forbidden romance between a rich widow and her younger gardener. Within a melodramatic structure, Sirk managed to reveal dome disturbing truths about how social mores allow us to exclude people offhand.

German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) met Sirk in 1971 and became highly influenced by his work. He used the template of All That Heaven Allows to comment on the racism issues that plagued Germany in the mid 1970’s. However, because the story is universal, the acting so strong, the film feels as fresh today, as it must have when it was released.

To get out of the rain, 60-year-old German charwoman Emmi (Brigitte Mira) ducks into a Munich bar frequented by Arab immigrants. Amid stares from the patrons, she quietly orders a Cola. The patrons look upon the older woman with a contempt reserved for strangers; their glares of hatred reflect how Germans generally treat Arabs. Emmi is soon approached by a man, in his late thirties, named Ali (El Hedi ben Salem) who asks her to dance. As the night goes on, it’s clear that the two are forming an unusual friendship. Ali’s honesty and openness appeal to Emmi and her belief that all people are basically good is of great comfort to Ali. It comes as a surprise to everyone in the bar when the two retreat to Emmi’s apartment. She invites Ali to stay the night and the two become lovers. By the next morning, Ali and Emmi have declared their love for each other. The two move in together and must face the racial slurs of the neighbors in her apartment building. While the name calling is new to Emmi and affects her greatly, for Ali, it’s life as usual.

The two eventually marry, despite the staunch objections of Emmi’s three children and nearly every other person who touched her life. They have all spent their lives mired in prejudice against foreign workers. Now that Emmi has professed her love for Ali, they have little trouble referring to her as a “whore.” Eventually, the couple finds a certain level of acceptance. However, Emmi and Ali begin to have their own doubts about the relationship.

While using All That Heaven Allows as a starting point, Fassbinder expands on the theme of social prejudice by making its protagonists different races as well. Fassbinder didn’t stop there. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul isn’t just an admonition against racism. Emmi and Ali’s anguish is a indicative of the pain that we all inflict on each other in order to ‘fit in.’ From the opening scene, when Emmi ducks into the Arab bar, Fassbinder is making it clear that everyone, regardless of race or sex feels alienated somewhere, someplace. After all, everyone has some innate racism.

While Fassbinder doesn’t use all the bright candy colors of Douglas Sirk, his influence in the camera style is unmistakable. Fassbinder uses saturated colors to create split compositions and shoots through doorways, staircases and windows, a kind of frame-within-a-frame to show the characters feelings of containment.

Shot in only 16 days and starring largely unknown actors, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a quietly moving film. Fassbinder was able to make a film that addressed social issues without feeling preachy. In the end, Fassbinder finds a way to suggest that Emmi and Ali’s relationship will persevere, but it won’t be without out its difficulties.

Criterion’s Blu-ray of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul features a beautiful new 4K transfer from the original camera negative and digitally restored at ARRI Film & TV in Munich under the supervision of cinematographer Jürgen Jürges. Te mage is clean and clear throughout, with excellent detail and well saturated colors. There is no dirt or scratches in evidence. While a few shots are a tad soft, it’s likely due to the film stock, not the transfer.

Framed in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio, the digitally restored monaural soundtrack sounds surprisingly clean. While there’s some evidence of the limitations in the source material, the film couldn’t sound any better than it does here.

English Subtitles are included.

The following extras have been replicated from Criterion’s 2003 DVD edition:

  • Introduction from 2003 by filmmaker Todd Haynes (1080i, 22:47) The writer/director (Far From Heaven, Safe) discusses Fassbinder’s career and his influences, as well as Douglas Sirk career and their influence on his own work.
  • Interview from 2003 with Actress Brigitte Mira (1080i, 25:01) The actress discusses meeting and working with Fassbinder. She worked with him in both film and theater and has fond memories of it all.
  • Interview from 2003 with Editor Thea Eymesz (1080i, 22:28) The editor worked with Fassbinder on 16 of his films. She discusses their unique working relationship.
  • Signs of Vigorous Life: New German Cinema (1080i, 32:21) A 1976 episode of BBC’s Omnibus. The focus is on a number of filmmakers who were part of the movement, one of whom is Fassbinder.
  • Scene from ‘The American Soldier’ (1970) (1080i, 2:45) A scene from an earlier Fassbinder film that eventually grew into Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.
  • Angst Isst Seele Auf (1080i, 12:34) Shahbaz Noshir’s 2002 short which reunites which reunites Mira, Eymèsz, and Jürges to tell the story, based on real events, of an attack by neo-Nazis on a foreign actor while on his way to a stage performance of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.
  • Trailer (1080i, 3:05) The original trailer.
  • Booklet: An illustrated booklet that includes an essay by critic Chris Fujiwara