It's a dark tragedy about class and exploitation set in Munich, Germany, in the mid-1970s. It follows a young gay man who wins a giant lottery.
Franz Bieberkopf (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) is a young gay man who works at a carnival that is closed down by the police. His sister, Hedwig (Christiane Maybach), holds him in contempt. However, Franz (also known as Fox) wins 500,000 marks in the lottery while in the company of Max (Karlheinz Böhm), a higher-class businessman he picked up at a public bathroom.
At the local gay bar, Max introduces Franz to his friends, including Eugen (Peter Chatel) and Philip (Harry Baer), who are a couple. Eugen suddenly is interested in Franz when he learns of the winning since his father (Adrian Hoven) has a factory in financial trouble. Eugen partners with and exploits Franz for two years until the money is almost gone. Franz always tries but fails to match the higher-class expectations of Eugen and his friends. "Fox and his Friends" ends sadly.
Although all the primary characters are gay, the film is really about exploitation in which the underclass can never win. The script, acting, and directing are all uneven, but Fassbinder presents the underlying theme well. "Fox and his Friends" is one of the more accessible Fassbinder films to follow.
Franz Bieberkopf (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) is a young gay man who works at a carnival that is closed down by the police. His sister, Hedwig (Christiane Maybach), holds him in contempt. However, Franz (also known as Fox) wins 500,000 marks in the lottery while in the company of Max (Karlheinz Böhm), a higher-class businessman he picked up at a public bathroom.
At the local gay bar, Max introduces Franz to his friends, including Eugen (Peter Chatel) and Philip (Harry Baer), who are a couple. Eugen suddenly is interested in Franz when he learns of the winning since his father (Adrian Hoven) has a factory in financial trouble. Eugen partners with and exploits Franz for two years until the money is almost gone. Franz always tries but fails to match the higher-class expectations of Eugen and his friends. "Fox and his Friends" ends sadly.
Although all the primary characters are gay, the film is really about exploitation in which the underclass can never win. The script, acting, and directing are all uneven, but Fassbinder presents the underlying theme well. "Fox and his Friends" is one of the more accessible Fassbinder films to follow.