I Only Want You to Love Me (1976)

Synopsis: A child raised in a cold, loveless family marries and leaves his hometown for the big city. His father, as always, cruelly undercuts his confidence, telling him he'll never earn enough money to... A child raised in a cold, loveless family marries and leaves his hometown for the big city. His father, as always, cruelly undercuts his confidence, telling him he'll never earn enough money to support a family. The young man does manage to hold down a construction job, however, and works hard at first. But slowly the pressures and anxieties of life begin to tear at him. As he tries to keep up with the Joneses and prove his parents' predictions wrong, he sinks deeper into debt, overextending his finances with the purchase of each "essential" new product. Eventually, he stops showing up at work, preferring instead to spend his days wandering the city alone. Then, one day, he steps into a bar, and all his rage, confusion, and loathing erupt in an act of pointless violence... Fassbinder examines the emotional dynamics of family life, the futility of consumerism, and existential despair in this searing work about a man destroyed first by his parents' rejection and then by the cruel demands of a world that never understood him. [More]

Starring: Vitus Zeplichal, Elke Aberle, Erni Mangold, Joanna Hofe

Starring: Vitus Zeplichal, Elke Aberle, Erni Mangold, Joanna Hofe, Alexander Allerson

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Composer: Peer Raben
Story: Klaus Antes, Christine Erhardt

[See More Credits]