Querelle

Adapted from Jean Genet’s novel Querelle de Brest (1947) into a cinematic world of pure mood and aesthetics, Querelle follows our titular (anti)hero on an odyssey of self-discovery by way of the dangerous drug deals, games of chance, and murderous exploits abundant in this French portside community.  Released posthumously after his sudden death at age 37, Fassbinder’s fiercely personal swan song utilizes the hyper-artificiality of a classic studio sound stage to explore a visceral aspect of male relationships, depicted here as a constant navigation between violence and intimacy.  As confrontational in its saturated hues as in its celebration of raw, sometimes absurd eroticism, this unapologetic final title in Fassbinder’s filmography cements his legacy as Germany’s ultimate provocateur.

35mm, color, 108 min.  Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder.  Production: Planet-Film; Gaumont; Albatros-Filmproduktion. Distribution: Gaumont.  Producer: Dieter Schidor.  Based on novel by Jean Genet.  Screenwriter: Burkhard Driest, Rainer Werner Fassbinder.  Cinematographer: Xaver Schwarzenberger, Josef Vavra.  Editor: Juliane Lorenz, Franz Walsch.  Cast: Brad Davis, Franco Nero, Jeanne Moreau, Günther Kaufman, Laurent Malet.