Peter von Kant is an adaptation of The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. Filmmaker Fassbinder first penned the story for theatre and later made it into a film in 1972. Fassbinder's film is set entirely in one room and was shot in the house of a fashion designer and her on-site assistant. A designer falls in love with a beautiful young woman who cheats on her after the two have an emotionally difficult relationship.
Ozon has removed the word "bitter tears" from both the title and the film's plot, leaving the film’s interpretation to the viewers. Fassbinder's ordeal was far darker, but this is friendlier, campier, and funnier. The female fashionista is now replaced by Peter von Kant (Denis Ménochet), a talented film director.
von Kant lives with his assistant Karl (Stefan Crepon) whom he frequently ridicules. For a long time, his muse was the renowned performer Sidonie (Isabelle Adjani). She introduces him to Amir (Khalil Ben Gharbi), a gorgeous young man from a low-income household. Peter immediately falls in love with Amir and promises to let him reside in his flat and assist him in getting started in the film industry. The plan works, but as soon as Amir gets popular, he dumps Peter, leaving him to face his troubles alone.
This new Von Kant has a lightness; he is a guy brought down by love, and the spectator can only shrug in compassion. The result is a sort of ultra-queer, deliciously retro feast, a bitchy but fantastic tribute to a passionate artist whose hedonism changed movies but destroyed his own life. It is an interesting watch that will have you hooked from beginning to end.
What film collection would this film be suitable for?
Peter Von Kant is a drama film, focusing on all the conflicts surrounding the titular character and his downfall. The film can also fit in LGBTQ+ film collections. It would also work in academic libraries for film production and film studies students.
Opening this year’s Berlin Film Festival to critical acclaim, Francois Ozon’s retelling of Fassbinder’s classic, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant is now Peter Von Kant, starring Denis Menochet in the lead role and Isabelle Adjani as his muse Sidonie. Peter Von Kant is a successful, famous director who lives with his assistant Karl, whom he likes to mistreat and humiliate. Through the great actress Sidonie, he meets and falls in love with Amir, a handsome young man of modest means who he offers to to help break into cinema… Ozon creates a tribute to the original and creates something completely his own.
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carole Bethuel
Denis Ménochet (left) as Peter von Kant and Khalil Gharbia (right) as Amir in PETER VON KANT, a film directed by François Ozon.
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carole Bethuel
Denis Ménochet (left) as Peter von Kant and Khalil Gharbia (right) as Amir in PETER VON KANT, a film directed by François Ozon.
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Denis Ménochet (left) as Peter von Kant and Isabelle Adjani (right) as Sidonie in PETER VON KANT, a film directed by François Ozon.
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carole Bethuel
Isabelle Adjani (left) as Sidonie and Denis Ménochet (right) as Peter von Kant in PETER VON KANT, a film directed by François Ozon.
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carole Bethuel
Isabelle Adjani (left) as Sidonie and Denis Ménochet (right) as Peter von Kant in PETER VON KANT, a film directed by François Ozon.
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carole Bethuel
Khalil Gharbia (left) as Amir and Denis Ménochet (right) as Peter von Kant in in PETER VON KANT, a film directed by François Ozon.
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carole Bethuel
Isabelle Adjani (left) as Sidonieand Hanna Schygulla (right) as Rosemarie in PETER VON KANT, a film directed by François Ozon.
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PETER VON KANT director François Ozon.