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Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Play trailer Poster for Ali: Fear Eats the Soul 1974 1h 34m Romance Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 42 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Emmi Kurowski (Brigitte Mira), 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 (El Hedi ben Salem). 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.
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Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

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Critics Consensus

Regarded as one of the high-water marks in German New Wave cinema of the 1970s, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is at once an intense portrayal of a relationship and a tribute to one of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film heroes, Douglas Sirk.

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Critics Reviews

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Adam Kempenaar Filmspotting 04/18/2023
4.5/5
In All That Heaven Allows, it’s ‘only’ class that divides them. That’s part of its elegance - and potency. Fassbinder amplifies all of the oppressive forces that conspire against this couple without compromising either. Go to Full Review Tony Rayns Sight & Sound 04/01/2020
Like Rainer Werner Fassbinder's other recent imitations of life, Fear Eats the Soul... achieves a remarkable balance between stylisation and realism. Go to Full Review Tara Brady Irish Times 04/26/2017
5/5
It even manages something like a happy ending without sugar-coating the still poignantly relevant themes.Timely and heartbreaking, some 43 years after its debut. Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Jun 30
4/4
Fassbinder famously observed that "love is the best, most perfidious, and most effective instrument of social oppression." This philosophy anchors his film’s central romance, which crosses generational and cultural lines. Go to Full Review Becky Kukla Vague Visages 08/07/2023
Though perhaps not perfect, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is by far Fassbinder’s most authentic and human work. Go to Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm 04/06/2023
3/4
...a movie that seems to have given up on the very idea of genuine human connection, even as it aches for exactly that. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Isaiah Y @zayman2 Sep 19 Likely Rainer Werner Fassbinder's magnum opus See more Cem Okan Y @cmyldz23 07/15/2025 A simple artsy movie with clear messages. Might be biased because I missed Munich while watching it. See more Stephen C @bob25009 06/08/2025 Success in 1 hour and 34 minutes. See more LAZI S @Lazi1970 03/03/2024 What an amazing and forelooking movie. Was shoot in 1974. Can't image. The anthem of against any kind of phobia and prejudice!!!!!! See more Blob 9 @RT56114040 01/23/2024 There are not many love stories revolving around May December relationships, but when they are made there is nothing else like it; unique, engrossing, sad and beautiful. See more Dave S @RT68722908 10/18/2022 On the surface, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul has a cold and austere look and feel to it, typical of Fassbinder's body of work. However, once you delve into it, there is an undeniable warmth that is generated primarily by its smart script and interesting premise. Emmi (Brigitte Mira) is an aging widow, abandoned by her children and working an unsatisfying job as a cleaner. Ali (El Hedi ben Salem) is a young Moroccan immigrant who lives with five other men in a small apartment and spends his time with a small group of friends in a neighborhood bar. When the two start a romantic relationship and eventually marry, they find themselves further isolated in a xenophobic world. While it is emotional and touching, it wisely avoids being nauseatingly sentimental. The accolades heaped on it may be a bit excessive, but it remains a stark and moving film about the power of human connections and the hatred that sometimes exists outside of these connections. See more Read all reviews
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

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Cast & Crew

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Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Director

Brigitte Mira

Emmi Kurowski

El Hedi ben Salem

Ali

Barbara Valentin

Barbara

Irm Hermann

Krista

Marquard Bohm

Gruber

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Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Emmi Kurowski (Brigitte Mira), 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 (El Hedi ben Salem). 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.
Director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Producer
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Distributor
New Yorker Films
Production Co
Filmverlag der Autoren
Genre
Romance, Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 5, 1974, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 11, 2017
Runtime
1h 34m