RainerWernerFassbinderwasprobablyGermany’smostsignificantpost-wardirector.Hisswiftanddramaticdemiseattheearlyageof37in1982leftbehindavacuuminEuropeanfilmmakingthathasyettobefilled,aswellasabodyofunique,multi-layeredandmultifariousworkofastonishingconsistencyandrigour.From1969onwards,DanishdirectorandfilmhistorianChristianBraadThomsenmaintainedacloseyetrespectfullydistancedfriendshipwithFassbinder.Fassbinder–LiebenohnezufordernisbasedonhispersonalmemoriesaswellasaseriesofconversationsandinterviewsheheldwithFassbinderandhismotherLilointhe1970s.ThefilmalsocontainscurrentinterviewswithIrmHermannandHarryBaer,bothofwhomwereclosetoFassbinder.BeginningwithFassbinder’sextraordinarychildhoodintraumatisedpost-warGermany,thefilm,whichisdividedintosevenchapters,providesanilluminating,intimateandmovingtributethatbearswitnesstotheenduringrelevanceofboththemanandhiswork.Todayinparticularhisoeuvrecontinuestoprovokeustoengagewithcontroversyandtension–beitaesthetical,creativeorcritical.berlianle2015