Angst essen Seele auf
Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) is a romance and drama film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, released on March 5, 1974 with a runtime of 1h 33m. It stars Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Irm Hermann and Barbara Valentin. Viewers rate it 7.7 out of 10 across 464 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Ali: Fear Eats the Soul before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.
Trailer
Featurette
Featurette
Brigitte Mira
as Emmi Kurowski
El Hedi ben Salem
as Ali
Irm Hermann
as Krista
Barbara Valentin
as Barbara
Elma Karlowa
as Mrs. Kargus
Anita Bucher
as Mrs. Ellis
Gusti Kreissl
as Paula
Doris Mattes
as Mrs. Angermayer
Margit Symo
as Hedwig
Katharina Herberg
as Bardame
Lilo Pempeit
as Mrs. Munchmeyer
Walter Sedlmayr
as Mr. Angermayer
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, written by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, produced by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Average viewer score of 7.7/10 from 464 ratings.
The original title of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1974 film "Fear Eats the Soul" is deliberately ungrammatical German: ANGST ESSEN SEELE AUF "Fear Eat Soul". That is due to one of the two protagonists we meet: Ali (El Hedi ben Salem) is a Moroccan immigrant working in Munich. He toils as a car repairman and has learned some very basic German, but he has been hindered from assimilating to German and fully learning…
Reviewed on July 23, 2018
Does anyone remember when Channel 4 (in the UK) had their Friday night red triangle zone of late night adult films that would probably have been X-certificate but that were available free-to-air? I think this is probably the only one of those I still recall as it memorably challenges just about every stereotype in the dictionary. The elderly and widowed “Emmi” (Brigitte Mara) meets the handsome and younger “Ali”…
Reviewed on September 4, 2025
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Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) is available to stream on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel and HBO Max, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store and Fandango At Home. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) includes Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Irm Hermann, Barbara Valentin and Elma Karlowa. The film was directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul was released on March 5, 1974 and runs for 1h 33m.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) holds an average rating of 7.7 out of 10 from 464 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy romance and drama films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Ali: Fear Eats the Soul trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
