Stay Updated

We're excited to keep you in the loop on all things Frameline (with no spam - ever!)

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder1972West Germany125 mins

Join us for a 50th anniversary screening of a landmark of queer cinema, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. One of the prolific director’s enduring classics, the film utilizes a galvanizing, all-female cast, a single apartment setting, and razor-sharp dialogue to tell the story of a celebrated fashion designer who begins a dangerous infatuation with a vain model nearly half her age. As delicate as a porcelain figurine and as volatile as a wild animal in equal measures, Petra von Kant (Margit Carstensen in her most legendary role) lives with her devoted and criminally mistreated assistant Marlene (Irm Hermann) in a luxurious Berlin loft. Creatively stagnant and living vicariously through her past successes, Petra finds the inspiration she’s lacking when she lays eyes upon the beautiful but icy Karin (Hanna Schygulla).

Frameline46 will also screen Peter von Kant, French director François Ozon’s bold, gender-swapped re-imagination of the film, starring Denis Ménochet in the title role, Hanna Schygulla trading Karin for the role of the von Kant matriarch, and Isabelle Adjani as Peter’s muse and confidante.

Quick links
Original Language Title
Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant
Director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Year
1972
Country
West Germany
Running Time
125 mins
Language
German
Section
Fully-Subtitled Films, Only in Theatres, Narrative Features
Program Note Writer
Joe Bowman
Copyright 2022 Frameline. All rights reservedSite by ED.

Stay Updated

We're excited to keep you in the loop on all things Frameline (with no spam - ever!)