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In a Year of Thirteen Moons
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (director)
Studiocanal UK (studio)
18 (certificate)
124 min (length)
24 March 2025 (released)
4 d
This 1978 melodrama by self-styled ‘enfant terrible’ of German cinema - Rainer Werner Fassbinder- is not an easy watch by any stretch of the imagination and be warned, may well turn viewers into hardcore vegetarians! At the same time, it is a touching story about a transgender woman attempting to make sense of the past and presence.
Director Fassbinder made the film in response to the suicide of his lover Armin Meier, so there are many personal echoes running throughout. If you wonder about the film’s rather peculiar title, it refers to the fact that every seventh year is a ‘moon year’ and overly emotional people tend to be prone to deep depression in these years. The same goes for a ‘moon year’ with thirteen moons, during which not only depression but personal drama and tragedy occur. The story of the film begins in Frankfurt, Germany, on the 24th July 1978 and yes, it is a thirteen moons year. The camera zooms in closer to a scene in a local park, which is obviously used for gay cruising. A transgender woman called Elvira (formerly called Erwin) gets into trouble because the guy who wants to make out with her initially assumes ‘Elvira’ is merely a transvestite, before realising that Elvira has gone full hog… and as a result is beaten up badly.
So begins the odyssey of Elvira (sensibly portrayed by Volker Spengler) as we follow her back to her apartment, where she has another lover who moves out after a heated argument. The film’s narrative is non-linear and via flashbacks we find out that when Elvira still was Erwin Weishaupt, he could only find a job as an apprentice butcher and this reviewer must warn you that the abattoir scene which follows is enough to put you off steaks or burgers (or any meat for that matter) for life! You have been warned!
He then met a woman, Irene (Elisabeth Trissenaar), whom he married and even had a little girl, Marie-Ann, with her - now grown up and played by Fassbinder regular Eva Mattes. Alas, domestic bliss was not to last as along the way, he met and fell in love with concentration camp survivor Anton Saitz (Gottfried John), who told Erwin that he could only love him if he were a real woman. Tragically, Erwin took the remark seriously indeed, booked a ticket to Casablanca and underwent a complete sex-change operation - with Anton completely vanishing from the scene upon Erwin’s return, now with a new identity and a new gender as Elvira.
The film follows Elvira’s daily excursions into the often absurd (during one scene, Elvira witnesses a man hanging himself while she calmly eats baguette and cheese and downs a bottle of wine) and his peculiar friendship with Rote Zora (Ingrid Caven - married to Fassbinder for two years). Zora, a hooker by the looks of it, displays tenderness and understanding towards Elvira and we follow both to various dens about town such as gambling halls, where some blokes harass Elvira. Another important scene sees Zora accompanying Elvira to the orphanage where she grew up as a little boy and where the nun, Sister Gudrun (Liselotte Pempeit) reveals facts about Elvira/Erwin which until now she didn’t know and which provide a clue as to his/her identity, which is in fact a shattering revelation… It’s not the only bitter pill that Elvira has to swallow because by sheer coincidence, her path crosses that with Anton Saitz and it goes without saying that Elvira, now a woman, excepts that this time round, love and romance will happen but fate can be cruel…especially in a year of thirteen moons.
A prime example of ‘Queer cinema’ - or perhaps just a prime example of a typical Fassbinder film - IN A YEAR OF THIRTEEN MOONS is without doubt an acquired taste. Whichever way you look at it, the film is a fascinating study of a vulnerable and tender human being in search of love and self-discovery, with a compelling central performance by Volker Spengler.
The Blu-ray release offers the following Bonus Material:
Fassbinder in Focus: A conversation between J. Jaques and A. Davidson / Love and Despair: Werner Schroeter on Fassbinder’s ‘In a Year…’ / The Roots of the Wounds: Juliane Lorenz on Fassbinder’s ‘In a Year…’ / Intro by American filmmaker Richard Linklater / Original German trailer.
Director Fassbinder made the film in response to the suicide of his lover Armin Meier, so there are many personal echoes running throughout. If you wonder about the film’s rather peculiar title, it refers to the fact that every seventh year is a ‘moon year’ and overly emotional people tend to be prone to deep depression in these years. The same goes for a ‘moon year’ with thirteen moons, during which not only depression but personal drama and tragedy occur. The story of the film begins in Frankfurt, Germany, on the 24th July 1978 and yes, it is a thirteen moons year. The camera zooms in closer to a scene in a local park, which is obviously used for gay cruising. A transgender woman called Elvira (formerly called Erwin) gets into trouble because the guy who wants to make out with her initially assumes ‘Elvira’ is merely a transvestite, before realising that Elvira has gone full hog… and as a result is beaten up badly.
So begins the odyssey of Elvira (sensibly portrayed by Volker Spengler) as we follow her back to her apartment, where she has another lover who moves out after a heated argument. The film’s narrative is non-linear and via flashbacks we find out that when Elvira still was Erwin Weishaupt, he could only find a job as an apprentice butcher and this reviewer must warn you that the abattoir scene which follows is enough to put you off steaks or burgers (or any meat for that matter) for life! You have been warned!
He then met a woman, Irene (Elisabeth Trissenaar), whom he married and even had a little girl, Marie-Ann, with her - now grown up and played by Fassbinder regular Eva Mattes. Alas, domestic bliss was not to last as along the way, he met and fell in love with concentration camp survivor Anton Saitz (Gottfried John), who told Erwin that he could only love him if he were a real woman. Tragically, Erwin took the remark seriously indeed, booked a ticket to Casablanca and underwent a complete sex-change operation - with Anton completely vanishing from the scene upon Erwin’s return, now with a new identity and a new gender as Elvira.
The film follows Elvira’s daily excursions into the often absurd (during one scene, Elvira witnesses a man hanging himself while she calmly eats baguette and cheese and downs a bottle of wine) and his peculiar friendship with Rote Zora (Ingrid Caven - married to Fassbinder for two years). Zora, a hooker by the looks of it, displays tenderness and understanding towards Elvira and we follow both to various dens about town such as gambling halls, where some blokes harass Elvira. Another important scene sees Zora accompanying Elvira to the orphanage where she grew up as a little boy and where the nun, Sister Gudrun (Liselotte Pempeit) reveals facts about Elvira/Erwin which until now she didn’t know and which provide a clue as to his/her identity, which is in fact a shattering revelation… It’s not the only bitter pill that Elvira has to swallow because by sheer coincidence, her path crosses that with Anton Saitz and it goes without saying that Elvira, now a woman, excepts that this time round, love and romance will happen but fate can be cruel…especially in a year of thirteen moons.
A prime example of ‘Queer cinema’ - or perhaps just a prime example of a typical Fassbinder film - IN A YEAR OF THIRTEEN MOONS is without doubt an acquired taste. Whichever way you look at it, the film is a fascinating study of a vulnerable and tender human being in search of love and self-discovery, with a compelling central performance by Volker Spengler.
The Blu-ray release offers the following Bonus Material:
Fassbinder in Focus: A conversation between J. Jaques and A. Davidson / Love and Despair: Werner Schroeter on Fassbinder’s ‘In a Year…’ / The Roots of the Wounds: Juliane Lorenz on Fassbinder’s ‘In a Year…’ / Intro by American filmmaker Richard Linklater / Original German trailer.
