Movie

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

1974 · 93 min

A quietly devastating, emotionally raw portrait of loneliness and social prejudice that lingers with its unflinching honesty.

Overview: Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

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How it feels

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Tone: melancholicstrength 3 of 3
bleakstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: isolation
love
race
class
betrayal
Places: big city
home
workplace
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	1
Humour	2
Realism	8
Romance	6
Tension	5
Darkness	7
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	8

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Details

Genres: romance, drama
Directed by: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Written by: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring: Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Irm Hermann, Barbara Valentin, Elma Karlowa, Anita Bucher, Gusti Kreissl, Doris Mattes
Music: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Cinematography: Jürgen Jürges
Runtime: 93 min
Country: Germany
Languages: Arabic, German

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Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

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