In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden (1978)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writer:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder (writer)

Release Date:

11 June 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

This drama follows the last few days in the life of Elvira (formerly Erwin) Weisshaupt. Years before...

Plot Keywords:

Unrequited Love | Transvestism | Sex | Prostitute | Slaughterhouse

Cast

Volker Spengler	...	Erwin / Elvira Weishaupt
Ingrid Caven	...	Die rote Zora
Gottfried John	...	Anton Saitz
Elisabeth Trissenaar	...	Irene Weishaupt
Eva Mattes	...	Marie-Ann Weishaupt
Günther Kaufmann	...	J. Smolik, Chauffeur
Lilo Pempeit	...	Schwester Gudrun (as Lieselotte Pempeit)
Isolde Barth	...	Sybille
Karl Scheydt	...	Christoph Hacker
Walter Bockmayer	...	Seelenfrieda
Peter Kollek	...	Saeufer
Bob Dorsay	...	Selbstmörder
Gerhard Zwerenz	...	Burghard Hauser, Schriftsteller
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Janez Bermez	...	Oskar Pleitgen (uncredited)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder	...	Seelenfrieda (voice) (uncredited)
Wolfgang Hess	...	Selbstmörder (voice) (uncredited)
Günther Holzapfel	...	Angestellter H. H. Brei (uncredited)
Ursula Lillig	...	Putzfrau (uncredited)

Directed by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder		writer

Produced by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder	....	producer

Original Music by
Peer Raben

Cinematography by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Film Editing by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Juliane Lorenz

Production Design by
Franz Vacek

Art Direction by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Makeup Department
Jo Braun	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Isolde Barth	....	production manager

Sound Department
Wolfgang Mund	....	sound
Karl Scheydt	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Werner Lüring	....	assistant camera
Wolfgang Mund	....	lighting technician
Karl Scheydt	....	lighting technician

Music Department
Roxy Music	....	music performers: "A Song for Europe" (uncredited)

Other crew
Franz Vacek	....	stage

Production Companies

• Filmverlag der Autoren
• Pro-ject Filmproduktion
• Tango Film

Distributors

• Cinemagi (Sweden) (video)
• Dolmen Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Fantoma (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (1980) (USA) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

In a Year of 13 Moons
In a Year with 13 Moons (USA)

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Frankfurt/Main, Hesse, Germany

Company:

Filmverlag der Autoren

Trivia:

Volker Spengler (playing Elvira Weishaupt) improvised the Dialogue on the Tape towards the end completely alone.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1982)

Soundtrack:

Frankie Teardrop

Fassbinder's self-indulgent tale of the last days of a transvestite.

This is a confused and incoherent mess of interminable scenes of boring dialogues and monologues. That is no exaggeration: you have to make a tremendous effort to even try to become involved with it.

I sincerely thought Fassbinder would make something interesting in order to tell why does Erwin/Elvira suicides at the end, but instead of this, in every scene somebody is trying to explain: "when he was young, this happened..." and "he just came back from Casablanca and ordered to cut everything down there...", etc.

Soon in the movie, Erwin/Elvira is in a slaughter house talking with a friend prostitute (certainly a slaughter house is the best place for a pleasant little chat), and while telling her the story of Elvira's life, Fassbinder shows the killing of one cow after the other. It is difficult to choose between giving attention to the disturbing images or what the transvestite is saying. Of course we come to the very forced and coarse symbolism of "I have suffered much in my life, and am about to die".

In one of the sparse moments where actually happens something, Erwin/Elvira encounters a former lover, that only after performing a extremely gay choreography with two other guys (as if going for the necessary level of homosexuality) is that he recognizes Elvira.

There are some interesting shots and ideas, I must admit (such as when the nun tells the story of the young Erwin), but everything on the movie is wasted due to Fassbinder's self- indulgence.