Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Fox and His Friends is a drama about Franz “Fox” Bieberkopf (Rainer Werner Fassbinder), who works with his boyfriend, Klaus (Karl Scheydt), at a circus. After Klaus is arrested for tax fraud, Fox loses his job because he and Klaus are a team. With no money and nowhere to go, Fox wanders the street and gets picked up by Max (Karlheinz Böhm) outside a public bathroom. On their way to Max’s house, Fox has him stop at a flower shop, where he swindles ten marks from a gay florist, then uses the money to buy a lottery ticket.
A month later, Max has Fox and some friends over. Max introduces Fox to Eugen (Peter Chatel), who does not approve of Fox because he’s working class. He tells his boyfriend, Philip (Harry Baer), and Max that he doesn’t approve of Fox. When Max mentions that Fox won 500,000 German marks from the lottery, Eugene takes an interest in him. He invites Fox to his apartment, where they have sex. Fox spends the night, and they’re found by Philip the following morning. Philip gets upset, but Eugene takes him aside and calms him down.
Eugene begins to court Fox, introducing him to his friends and family. Soon Eugene gets Fox involved in the family business, which is having some financial difficulties, and convinces him to loan his family money to keep it afloat. And with that, the story unfolds.
Some Thoughts:
Fox and His Friends is filled with seedy characters who can’t be trusted. Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who also plays Fox, lays everything out as is, leaving the viewers to sort it out.
Themes of exploitation and class are clearly drawn, with everybody except Fox knowing where they stand. You have the wealthy who are using Fox for financial gain and the working class who are watching it play out. And everybody is aware of what’s going on except the naive Fox, who is too enamored by Eugene to see the obvious. The film would be much more heartbreaking if Fox was innocent, but he’s not. He’s just as dubious as the others, which is shown when he swindles money from a florist.
If the film wasn’t put together so well, this story would be unbelievable. It’s the cast, cinematography, and pacing that make it work. This story would fall apart in the hands of a lesser director.
The Final Verdict:
Fox and His Friends is perfect for those who like a good melodrama. The story is engaging and there’s never a dull moment.