The Merchant of Four Seasons (Händler der vier Jahreszeiten)
Directed by Ranier Werner Fassbinder
Written by Ranier Werner Fassbinder
1972/West Germany
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Every decent director has only one subject, and finally only makes the same film over and over again. My subject is the exploitability of feelings, whoever might be the one exploiting them. It never ends. It’s a permanent theme. Whether the state exploits patriotism, or whether in a couple relationship, one partner destroys the other. — Ranier Werner Fassbinder
I think I like the high melodrama Fassbinder better than the political Fassbinder. This film is on the political side.
The setting is in the lower-middle-class environs of contemporary Munich, Germany. Hans Epp has had a colorful past including in the police department from whence he was fired when caught accepting the sexual favors of a prostitute and subsequently in the French Foreign Legion. Now, he ekes out a living for his wife Irmgard (Irm Herrmann) and daughter by hawking fruit in the courtyards of low-rent apartment buildings.
Everyone looks down on Hans for his lowly profession, including his entire family. He reacts by becoming a mean drunk and assaulting the domineering, and long-suffering, Irmgard. Irmgard has her bags packed when, suddenly, Hans has an incapacitating heart attack. He can no longer lift anything and must take it easy.
Irm gets the bright idea of selling from a fruit stand herself and hiring someone to sell from the cart. Hans’ first employee gets caught with his hand in the till. Hans then turns to an old friend from his Foreign Legion Days. The revived business is a big success. Hans becomes marginalized and even more despondent. Fassbinder muse Hanna Schygulla plays Hans Epp’s sister.
The talent in all aspects of making this movie is evident but I didn’t connect with the story. It feels like it is trying to say something about middle class morality in Germany. I’m not sure what. The film lacks the sensory overload or raw emotion of something like Petra von Kant (1972). This is more or less just depressing.
