(A Man like Eva)
Directed by Radu Gabrea
92 minutes
In German with English subtitles  

This is an incredibly rare screening of this crazed biopic about the queer German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It was made by Romanian director Radu Gabrea shortly after the early death of Fassbinder. This film has a lot going for it, not least that the person who plays Fassbinder is a woman—Eva Mattes, an actress who acted in several Fassbinder movies (Jailbait, Petra von Kant, 13 Moons) and knew him well. The idea of a woman playing Fassbinder is a stroke of genius - it is one of the greatest gender-bending drag stunts in film history, and adds another level of complexity to Fassbinder's persona. 

Anyone who knows the biography of Fassbinder knows his life was like a roller coaster, he lived life to the fullest, creating an enormous amount of mind-boggling films, and basically collapsing to death at the age of 37. He was an absolute powerhouse of creativity, an unwieldy force of nature. According to the stories he also had a cruel streak and often pushed the people he was working with to their limits. Well let's be clear, he was pushing himself to the limit even more than anyone else. Much of that is explored in this flick, which is stuffed full of details based on Fassbinder's real life. I remember seeing this campy flick back in the mid-80s when it was first made, but since then it totally disappeared and I've never had a chance to see it again... until now.  

The film focuses on a director named Eva who is living collectively with his cast and crew in a huge house that is going to ruin. They are shooting a movie in absolute chaos, as unpaid bills are pouring in and tensions are high. Love affairs are exploding, and the violence inherent in our society erupts on the movie set. What is unleashed is a theater of cruelty, but also a movie about the nature of creativity and how it can be all consuming. 

Eva Mattes gives a tour-de-force performance, dressed in Fassbinder's signature garb—beard, black leather coat and sunglasses. Her reincarnation of Fassbinder has been called hallucinatory. She was in fact pissed off at short-sighted critics who accused the movie of being exploitative—for her the entire film is an act of respect. And indeed although it has outrageous aspects, it is incredibly insightful and works on many levels. A wild journey into Fassbinder's chaotic world delivered with a crazy gender-bending punch.