I could write and write about this series - like, take notes for every 'part' or episode - but then it wouldn't be accepted in these IMDb comments. Suffice to say, Fassbender's epic on the human condition (in a way it's fitting that he chose this as his longest-running project, a period piece that encapsulates a lot of his concerns about what it is to be a man, or a woman, or in a relationship, or how to respond or not respond in political situations, and the tragedies that can unfold) ebbs and flows as one of Fassbinder's best.
That is, I should say, when it's at its best. There are some times where scenes or even an episode can lag, but it's all so long and full of acting and dialog to chew on emotionally speaking that you're bound to find a story point or turn or scene that grabs you back in.
Oh, and that epilogue. I still can't get over it, and I mean in a Gaspar Noe Enter the Void sort of way. It's an overlong character study of a man that shouldn't be interesting, but he is just by the sheer fact that it's a 15 1/2 hour testament to the bittersweet nature of his life, of everything that Franz Biberkopf experiences and does, both decent, horrible-verging-unforgivable, and what happens to him (Gunter Lamprecht, who has so much to do in this series it's hard not to see it as the performance of a lifetime).
Indeed, with its many characters and sprawling urban storytelling (though a core set that really counts) it's what could be called a "Bittersweet Symphony of a City" really, and Berlin in the late 20's at that makes for one helluva setting any. It also has one hell of a villain in Reinhold, and a particular murder scene is among the most horrifying and repugnant and awesomely filmed in all of cinema, if only because Fassbinder chooses to repeat it several times in the series. And with that poetic narration that is the film/series biggest problem---and yet its quality that is unique to itself.
All in all, a work of humanistic art, and if it's not Fassbinder's crowning achievement it's all the more remarkable that he tries so much to get there.
That is, I should say, when it's at its best. There are some times where scenes or even an episode can lag, but it's all so long and full of acting and dialog to chew on emotionally speaking that you're bound to find a story point or turn or scene that grabs you back in.
Oh, and that epilogue. I still can't get over it, and I mean in a Gaspar Noe Enter the Void sort of way. It's an overlong character study of a man that shouldn't be interesting, but he is just by the sheer fact that it's a 15 1/2 hour testament to the bittersweet nature of his life, of everything that Franz Biberkopf experiences and does, both decent, horrible-verging-unforgivable, and what happens to him (Gunter Lamprecht, who has so much to do in this series it's hard not to see it as the performance of a lifetime).
Indeed, with its many characters and sprawling urban storytelling (though a core set that really counts) it's what could be called a "Bittersweet Symphony of a City" really, and Berlin in the late 20's at that makes for one helluva setting any. It also has one hell of a villain in Reinhold, and a particular murder scene is among the most horrifying and repugnant and awesomely filmed in all of cinema, if only because Fassbinder chooses to repeat it several times in the series. And with that poetic narration that is the film/series biggest problem---and yet its quality that is unique to itself.
All in all, a work of humanistic art, and if it's not Fassbinder's crowning achievement it's all the more remarkable that he tries so much to get there.