Gods Of The Plague

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's revisionist gangster film is a tip of the fedora to Hollywood noir films that's somewhat reminiscent of Eddie Constantine's French crime dramas. Newly released from prison, armed robber Franz Walsch (Harry Baer) has difficulty readjusting to life in Munich, where everyone is a potential mark. Although he's reunited with his ex-girlfriend, the long-suffering Joanna Reiher (Hanna Schygulla), he's too restless to make a commitment to her. Joanna, who supported Franz for years, retaliates by breaking up his relationship with Magdalena Fuller (Ingrid Caven), but he simply takes up with a younger woman, Margarethe (Margarethe von Trotta). The loc...