Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

1974 | Drama | 93 minutes | German with English subtitles

Info

Emmi, a 60-year-pld window-cleaner and a widow in Munich, enters a bar to get out of the rain. With the jukebox playing music, the barmaid, Barbara, tauntingly suggests that Ali, a strapping young Moroccan immigrant, ask Emmi to dance. Ali and Emmi begin to socialize and get to know each other. Even though Ali is half her age, they fall in love and live together. When the landlord’s son threatens to evict Emmi for housing a “boarder,” Emmi blurts out that he’s not a boarder–they plan to get married. Ali is initially startled by this suggestion, but quickly thinks it’s a good idea. They rush to the civil court and tie the knot. When Emmi’s children hear of this they go ballistic. One son kicks Emmi’s TV in anger and breaks it. Her daughter storms out of the apartment calling her mother a “whore.” The neighbors shun them. The relationship starts to crack as Ali and Emmi have trouble handling two different cultures. Ali leaves Emmi and resumes his previous affair with Barbara, the barmaid. Just when it looks like the relationship is over, Emmi returns to the bar where she first met Ali. He’s there, there’s music from the jukebox, and they dance. It looks promising until Ali collapses from his stomach ulcer. He’s rushed to the hospital with Emmi at his side. They have lots of hurdles to overcome to make their marriage work. Somehow, you feel they are up to it. After all, they do love each other.

Cast

Brigitte Mira (Emmi) / El Hedi ben Salem (Ali) / Barbara Valentin (Barbara)

Why Stream This Film?

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul achingly reveals the ugliness of prejudice and hatred beneath the polite veneer of a Munich community. When Emmi’s neighbors asked the landlord’s son to evict the couple, he refused, saying, “they seem like a happy couple to me.” Too bad this view is not shared by others. Even Emmi’s children abandon her when they learn of the marriage. It’s a timeless heartbreaking story told truthfully and poignantly.

Rotten Tomatoes Score (Critics Consensus): 100%

Accolades

75th Venice Film Festival, Winner, Golden Lion
Ten Academy Award Nominations. Winner: Best Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director (Alfonso Cuarón), Best Cinematographer (Alfonso Cuarón)
Festivals: Venice, Telluride, Toronto, New York
Best Film of 2018: Time Magazine and The New York Film Critics Circle