Fear Eats the Soul is a German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Brigitte Mira and El Hedi ben Salem. It is certainly a film ahead of its time in that it depicts interracial marriages and the complex reality of life in a foreign country. The 1955 film All That Heaven Allows My was the real inspiration for the making of Angst essen Seele auf, both projecting a conflicted love between a widow and a younger man. However, Fear Eats the Soul embarks on a much more complex and somewhat disturbing story. My main concern is judging whether the film should be put aside and remembered as part of the overused classic romance genre or whether it contains hidden ideas, messages and a much deeper and emotional plot that make it well worthy of the awards from Cannes. We will explore the levels of romance the couple goes through and the artful and harsh realities the director attempts to portray. The film begins with a romantic touch. A typical love at first sight monologue; However, the conditions in which this love flourishes are quite interesting to see. The 1970s are known for their revolution in sexual mores and Fassbinder depicts the desire for a younger partner which consequently evolves into greater romance which, thus, turns into stress and anxiety. Most films from this era depict a much older man having a relationship with a younger, more attractive woman; this film does just the opposite. It is Emmi (Mira), the older and unattractive female, who falls in love with the robust young male, Ali (Salem). Fassbinder disregards the tradition of having attractive young lead actresses and directed 60-year-old Emmi with great emotion and one would believe that viewers would believe that Brigitte Mira was born for this role..... .. middle of paper ...... some time. Still, the nostalgic feeling of returning to the bar and dancing like they had first encountered it softened their hearts. Even though the scene wasn't very long, Fassbinder tends to remind viewers - from time to time - with such small scenes, how passionate Ali and Emmi's romance is on all its levels. A new level of romance has emerged, involving loyalty, trust and sacrifice. the last scenes where Ali collapsed. We think romance isn't the cheesy, operatic kind. The film managed to win 2 Cannes awards with a very low budget and a two-week shoot. This film is perhaps Fassbinder's most original film. com/Top100ForeignFilmshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_That_Heaven_Allows