Chinese Roulette
| Chinese Roulette | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Rainer Werner Fassbinder |
| Produced by |
Michael Fengler Barbet Schroeder |
| Written by | Rainer Werner Fassbinder |
| Starring |
Margit Carstensen Ulli Lommel Anna Karina Macha Méril Alexander Allerson |
| Music by | Peer Raben |
| Cinematography | Michael Ballhaus |
| Edited by | Ila von Hasperg |
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Release date
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Running time
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82 minutes |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | German |
| Budget | DEM 1.1 (estimated) |
Chinese Roulette (German: Chinesisches Roulette) is a 1976 West German film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It stars Margit Carstensen, Ulli Lommel and Anna Karina. The film, a bleak psychological drama, climaxes with a truth-guessing game, which gives the film its title. The plot follows a bourgeois married couple whose infidelities are exposed by their disabled child.
Ariane and Gerhard Christ, a wealthy Munich couple, are packing before going off for the weekend, which each intends to spend abroad. While they are away their twelve-year-old daughter Angela, who is disabled and walks with crutches, has to remain home under the care of her governess, Traunitz. Actually, the couple have lied about their travel intentions. Convinced that his wife and daughter will be elsewhere, Gerhard takes his longtime mistress Irene Cartis — a French hairdresser — on a weekend tryst to the family's country house.
The Christ family's rural estate is run by a sinister housekeeper named Kast and her sexually ambiguous son, Gabriel. While Kast, a cruel and cranky old woman, is irritated by the visit of her employers, her son Gabriel, a pretentious aspiring writer, is hoping to exploit Gerhard's connections to get his work published. Upon entering the house with his lover Irene, Gerhard runs to the living room only to find Ariane on the floor with her lover Kolbe, Gerhard's assistant. The two couples try to overcome the uncomfortable situation and are able to laugh about the absurdity of it. They all have dinner together and, over coffee, Gabriel is allowed to read from the philosophical book he has written. He is interrupted by the arrival of Angela — who secretly planned this encounter out of hate for her parents' lack of affection — along with her mute governess, Traunitz, and a small army of grotesque dolls. Ariane is furious with the antics of her daughter and tries to hit her but Gerhard does not allow her. Angela is defiant and on their part the two adulterous couples decide to continue as planned.
Angela tells Gabriel that her disability originated with her parents' infidelities. Eleven years ago, when her father started her relationship with his mistress, Angela's illness appeared. When her mother began an affair with Kolbe, the doctors declared Angela's condition as hopeless. However, Kast dismisses the child's allegation as nonsense. The next morning Angela goes from room to room to say good morning to her parents, and finds them naked with their respective lovers. During the day, as the adulterous Christs come to terms with their respective infidelities, Angela tries to play them and their lovers off each other.
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