The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant

Movie Summary: 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.

Queer Film LA Says: New German Cinema's enfant terrible Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who directed 40 feature films before his death at 37, this heart-rending romantic drama showcases Fassbinder's use of Hollywood's melodramatic style to dive deep into social taboos.

Movie Summary: Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi’s family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

Queer Film LA Says: This heartrending film, about a doomed romance between and older German widow and a younger Moroccan immigrant man, is a searing exploration of loneliness and prejudice from out German writer and director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.