OurMovieNights
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) poster

1972 · drama · romance

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder2h 4m1972

Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer -- arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She mistreats Marlene (her secretary, maid, and co-designer). Enter Karin, a 23-year-old beauty who wants to be a model. Petra falls in love with Karin and invites her to move in.

Our read: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) reads as a heavy, slow-burn, grounded drama · romance entry — measured in intensity, intimate in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.

Movie DNA

Heavy, slow-burn, measured drama / romance, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, intimate, cold.

ElsewhereIMDb7.512kRT85%Metacritic73TMDB7.4235
  • heavy
  • slow-burn
  • intense
  • bleak
  • cold
  • signature
Game · before you press play

Watching The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant tonight? Spin for your lens.

Everyone on the couch spins once and gets one craft to watch for. After the credits, compare what you caught.

Your lens for tonight

?

Everyone on the couch gets one craft to watch for. Spin the wheel to get yours. Sound on: the narrator reads your mission.

Where to watch
More info & search links
Where the cast leads
DNA · twelve axes

How The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want claustrophobic chamber drama about power, desire, and self-destruction.”

ends devastatingit leaves you shakenmeditativegrips by minute 18attention 5/5feels its lengthsubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around
Heads-upnudity

Skip it tonight — Skip if one-room German art films feel like homework tonight.

Nearest by DNA

Eight films that feel like this one.

Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, with why →

Your take
Rate it
star-clip-1-0star-clip-2-0star-clip-3-0star-clip-4-0star-clip-5-0
React
Discussion

Discussion

cmd enter to post

Make it a movie night.

Pick a mood, get a film the whole couch will enjoy, and give everyone something to watch for.

Pick tonight's film →
Watching with your partner?Play this film’s board