Double Features: “All That Heaven Allows” and “Ali: Fear Eats the Soul”
When reading about film, one hears about “influence” a lot. There are many cases where the influence can be seen indirectly: the attitude from Breathless can be seen in Pulp Fiction, Rosemary’s Baby on Midsommar, and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie on Good Time. However, sometimes a director chooses to engage with an older film directly—like De Palma’s Blow Out as a response to Antonioni’s Blowup, or Craven’s The Last House on the Left as a response to Bergman’s The Virgin Spring. Among all these instances, however, my favorite is Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows and its response, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.
These films take place in different societies, but they remain similar in almost every story beat. All That Heaven Allows is a classic Hollywood melodrama beautifully shot in Technicolor (whatever happened to color in cinema?). Its main character is Cary, a wealthy widow who is ostracized by her friends and family for falling in love with the wrong person: her working-class arborist, Ron. She tries to introduce him into her wealthy circles, but they are both looked down upon by Cary’s rich friends. Her son and daughter both believe her relationship with Ron is going to destroy their lives so they convince her to end it. Once she does, however, she realizes her mistake in trying to integrate Ron into her society and how her sacrifice does not matter to her children. Cary decides to do what makes her happy and goes back to Ron.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a 1974 German film filmed in less than two weeks while Rainer Werner Fassbinder was killing time waiting for his next production to begin. Its main character is Emmi, a working-class widow who walks into a bar and meets Ali, a Moroccan immigrant. They dance together, form a bond immediately, and soon move in together. Emmi’s neighbors, her family, and convenience store owners discriminate against Ali and look down on her. Eventually, Emmi and Ali decide that they need to get away from everyone’s stares, so they take a vacation. During their time away, everyone who discriminated against Emmi and Ali realizes that they need Emmi in their lives for some sort of gain — monetary or societal. And so, when Emmi and Ali come back, Emmi is welcomed with open arms. Her neighbors go back to being friendly to her and the convenience store owner glosses over their previous feud. However, as Emmi is welcomed back into society, she begins to treat Ali with less respect. She begins seeing him as an outsider or an object, or as a foreigner. Eventually, Ali leaves Emmi, and when she tries to get him back, he pretends not to know her. Emmi visits Ali at the bar where they met, and they dance to the same song they danced to the night they met. He collapses, and at the hospital, Emmi is told that Ali has a stomach ulcer and that he will keep getting them every few months. The film ends when Emmi takes Ali’s hand and says that she will take care of him as best as she can.
The two of these films address love in unconventional ways. They are romantic dramas whose themes are evident: “fear eats the soul.” They challenge their characters by making them choose between love and fear. It is fear that makes them decide to follow the rules of their surroundings rather than do what makes them happy, and it is love that helps them overcome their fears. Fassbinder admired the love that Sirk had for his characters, so he attempted a similar approach. By making Ali, Fassbinder engaged in direct conversation with Sirk. Sirk made a statement about class, and Fassbinder responded to it by adapting it to race and nationality.
Both of these films are masterpieces, and they would make for a great use of one’s weekend.
Photo Credit by SFMOMA.
