Ali: Fear Eats the Soul Film Difficulty Ranking: 2
Why Watch Ali: Fear Eats the Soul?
- It will provoke a lot a debate! So much to talk about!
- It is one of acclaimed German director, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s masterpieces (it won awards at the prestigious Cannes film festival)
- Experience racism and prejudice in Western Europe in the 1970s
- See some excellent camerawork – partly discusses below
The Breakdown
Emmi, an old white German woman walks into a bar to get out of the pouring rain. The camera cuts 180 degrees to show a group of Arabs watching Emmi from the other end of the bar. Then the camera cuts back 180 degrees to show Emmi sit down at a seat closest to the door. The camera marks the distance between Emmi and the Arabs drinking at the other end of the bar. Will the distance between Emmi and the Arabs be broken?
One of the barmaids challenges Ali, one of the Arabs, to go and dance with the old woman. Not one to refuse a challenge, Ali crosses the race threshold and walks to the other end of the bar where Emmi is sitting. He asks her to dance, and she accepts! They both cross the threshold and walk past the other Arabs to a dance floor at the back of the bar. All of the bar’s clientele watch them in silence.
Through Emmi and Ali’s relationship we get to experience the horrible amount of racism and prejudice they face from shopkeepers, Emmi’s family, and the people she works and lives with. What stuck with me was the image of Emmi’s son-in-law (played by Fassbinder) sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. He is dressed shabbily, is skipping work, and threatens to hit his wife if she doesn’t go get him a beer. Whilst he is acting like a pig, he complains about all the Arab immigrants and refers to them as pigs. The best metaphor of hypocrisy.
Conlcusion and What to Watch Next
The camerawork and unlikely relationship make this film great. It will challenge your own prejudices. Amazingly there are still a load of remnants from the time of Hitler – Emmi even admits she was a Nazi just like everyone else living in Germany whilst he was in power. For an excellent film on race in Europe go watch this film!
For more films about immigration and the migrant experience check out:
- Black Girl: Sembene’s classic about a Senegalese girl taken to France to work for a French family. It’s essential viewing and available on YouTube.
- Sin Nombre (Amazon): A Central American thriller following one boy trying to flee the country to escape the notorious Mara gang
- Paddington (Amazon): One Peruvian immigrant tries to fit in in the U.K.
','' ); } ?>