Review of Love Is Colder Than Death (1970) by James C — 17 Mar 2008

Fassbinder's first film is cooler than cool, an icy study of three petty crooks who hang out, pose, keep their love for each other dark and secret and screw it all up for themselves in the end. The film is shot in stark black and white, with endless shots were not very much happens but a lot of unease goes on.

But it's aesthetically beautiful unease. The bisexual tensions in the threesome are intriguing, and the steadfast refusal to elucidate the story in anything like a traditional or accessible manner is awesomely arrogant for a freshman film.