Michael J. Lieb

Shot with striking immediacy by a subjective camera, “Angst isst Seele auf” assumes the point of view of a black actor in Germany dealing with racist abuse as he prepares to appear in a play based on Fassbinder’s film, about the taboo relationship between an older German woman and an Arab man. Sharing the same lead actress (Brigitte Mira), cinematographer (Jürgen Jürges), and editor (Thea Eymèsz) as in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1974 Film “Angst essen Seele auf”, these twin works offer a searing indictment of prejudice within German society.

After sleeping with Sharif, an engineer from Kashmir, the young and naive Lisa leaves his apartment without a comment. Six weeks later, they meet again and fall in love. Although Lisa feels totally happy, she doesn't tell Sharif about her pregnancy. On the other hand, he keeps secret that his brother Tajjab came to Munich and forced him to commit a terrorist attack. They both were soldiers of the Muslim liberation army in Kashmir, but Sharif left his home country to study in London. Little by little, Lisa discovers the truth about her boy-friend and tries to prevent the worst...