The Merchant of Four Seasons

The Merchant of Four Seasons
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRainer Werner Fassbinder
Written byRainer Werner Fassbinder
Produced byRainer Werner Fassbinder
StarringHans Hirschmüller [de]
Irm Hermann
Hanna Schygulla
Klaus Löwitsch
CinematographyDietrich Lohmann
Edited byThea Eymèsz
Music byRainer Werner Fassbinder
Peer Raben (arranger)[1]
Production
company
Tango Film
Release dates
  • 10 March 1972 (1972-03-10) (Germany)
  • 10 February 1972 (1972-02-10) (France)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryWest Germany
LanguageGerman
BudgetDEM 178,000 (estimated)

The Merchant of Four Seasons (German: Händler der vier Jahreszeiten) is a 1972 West German film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hans Hirschmüller [de] and Irm Hermann. The plot follows the life of a fruit-peddler, living in 1950s Munich, who is driven over the edge by an uncaring society.[2][3]

The title derives from the French expression for a fruit and vegetable seller, un marchand des quatre-saisons.[4] The film explores issues of class prejudices, domestic violence, infidelity, family discord, depression and self-destructive behavior.[5]

  1. ^ Flinn, Caryl (February 9, 2004). The New German Cinema: Music, History, and the Matter of Style. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520238237 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Fassbinder's The Merchant Of Four Seasons is a fascinatingly uncool early work". Film.
  3. ^ Mercer, John; Shingler, Martin (September 6, 2013). Melodrama: Genre, Style and Sensibility. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231503068 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Magill, Frank Northen (June 30, 1985). Magill's Survey of Cinema, Foreign Language Films. Salem Press. ISBN 9780893562489 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Watson, Wallace Steadman (June 30, 1996). Understanding Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Film as Private and Public Art. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781570030796 – via Google Books.