Whity (Widescreen)

DVD, 102 minutes, FANTOMA

In his 36-year life, director Rainer Werner Fassbinder made some 40 films. He is perhaps best known to American audiences for his 1978 period drama, The Marriage of Maria Braun. A theme he examined repeatedly in his films was the unreasonable meanness of people, which he shows in a stark, relentless fashion. This early film, Whity, is set in the American Old West, with overtones of the antebellum South. The main character, Whity (Gunther Kaufmann), is a black servant who is sorely abused at every turn. Eventually, he has had all he can take; his manner of taking vengeance is what this film is about. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi. Commentary.