Chinese Roulette


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 truthguessing game, which gives the film its title. The plot follows a bourgeois married couple whose infidelities are exposed by their disabled child.

The Christ familys 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 Gerhards 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, Gerhards 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, Angelas illness appeared. When her mother began an affair with Kolbe, the doctors declared Angelas condition as hopeless. However, Kast dismisses the childs 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. ........

Source: Wikipedia


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