Essay Questions

How is this film a story of both betrayal and love?

The themes of love and betrayal are juxtaposed throughout Fassbinder’s masterpiece and the two dovetail around each other throughout the film. The beginning of the play is nestled firmly in the exploration and celebration of love. Despite their differing backgrounds and experiences, Ali and Emmi fall in love with one another. Their love is powerful and overwhelming and deserves to be celebrated. Betrayal soon follows, however, when Emmi’s own family—along with the rest of society—turn on the couple. They are betrayed by those who are closest to them, by the family members that should be relied upon to love one another unconditionally. And yet, ironically, it’s these betrayals and disloyalties that strengthen Ali and Emmi’s love and draws them closer to one another. By overcoming the prejudicial society around them, Emmi and Ali grow in their romantic convictions and are able to discover the true meaning of love and life.

Why is the title, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, rather ironic?

At the beginning of the film, Ali tells Emmi that fear eats the soul. When he is quoted as saying this, he is making a symbolic point about the nature of fear. Fear is all-consuming; it destroys us from the inside out by corrupting our soul and turning us into mindless drones, motivated only by fear. Ironically, however, the fear that Ali and Emmi live in every day—fear of prejudice and hate from the society around them—takes a physical toll on Ali’s body. As a result of the stress and fear that he has experienced for much of his life, Ali develops a stomach ulcer at the end of the film and is hospitalized. As stomach ulcers are often caused by extreme stress, the title of the film is very telling and ironic, for it was fear—and the physical repercussions of the stress associated with that fear—that do, in fact, eat at Ali’s body and soul. His body is physically affected by the fear and worry he’s experienced and this physical ailment, in turn, weakens his soul. Additionally, throughout the film, it was Emmi who demonstrated and experienced more fear than Ali; traditionally, Ali would calm Emmi and keep her grounded. Despite this, Ali is the one who is physically affected.

How do the settings and cinematic exaggerations contribute to your understanding of the story?

Fassbinder made several intentional cinematic decisions throughout the course of this movie to symbolize Ali and Emmi’s relationship—and the outside world’s perception of them. The shots of Emmi and Ali in their dwelling space are very cramped and lend themselves to a sense of claustrophobia. This cinematic decision symbolizes how Ali and Emma feel trapped by the world around them. The social expectations of the time dictate that their relationship is improper and shocking; the expectations from the outside world and those around them are constantly pressing against them—much like the claustrophobic walls of their apartment. Fassbinder also utilizes his foregrounds and backgrounds to depict certain characters as being exaggeratedly large or small. This is also a purposeful cinematic decision, made to emphasize and depict the influence of society upon Emmi and Ali.