In Fox and his Friends, Fassbinder weaves a brilliant and cynical tale of love poisoned by class. Casting himself in the titular role, Fassbinder creates an unlikely working-class hero in Fox, a man who enjoys the basic pleasures of life. When he strikes rich with a lottery ticket, his working class lifestyle is uprooted and elevated to the ranks of the "cultured" upper class bourgeoisie when Fox falls in for the pompous conman Eugen. What we know and Fox doesn't is that Eugen is using Fox in order to bail out his father's failing business, manipulating him to "lend" his newfound fortunes, something Fox happily does. The film unravels like a great tragedy whose ending we can foresee but can't forestall. The camera work is brilliant as always (the scene in morroco with the shafts of light is sublime), and the disparate dynamics of class are expertly portrayed, especially palpable in all the dining scenes. Fassbinder does a remarkable job playing the charismatic Fox, plays him with deep humanity and almost childlike purity, thus creating a perfect foil for the snooty morally bankrupt upper class cast of fops, who are anything but Fox's friends, as they manipulate him out of his fortunes. As dark as it is, there's also a lot of comedy here, as the absurdity of life's cruelty is almost cartoonishly embellished (the $ bill that flies off and is stolen by thugs, fox oblivious to the meanness and greed that forms the backdrop of his world). The film culminates in the ultimate robbery, that of Fox's life. And as he lies dead in an empty train station, Fassbinder reveals one final tragedy as two buzzard-like children find and strip him of everything he has, including his iconic emblazoned "Fox" denim jacket. This world is so cruel that even in death, it conspires to rob him. It's a deeply bitter and often funny tale, an indictment of the upper class and an inimitable work of genius from the wonderful wunderkind.
Review of Fox and His Friends
