The influential Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Fassbinder is one of the most important film directors of Germany's post-WWII era. He died in 1982 at age 37, yet in his short life span he made 44 movies. While influenced by his predecessors, his films were unique, earning him a place in international cinematic history and influencing a subsequent generation of directors around the world.

Fassbinder's most important role model was director Detlef Sierck, who was born in Germany in 1897. In 1937 Sierck released "To New Shores" and "La Habanera," featuring star actress Zarah Leander. He was forced to flee Nazi Germany the same year, as his wife was Jewish. After settling in Hollywood, he took on the name Douglas Sirk and made melodramas such as "Magnificent Obsession" (photo, 1954).

In the winter of 1970-71, Fassbinder visited his role model in Ascona, southern Switzerland, where Sirk was living at the time. Fassbinder once said in an interview that Sirk's melodramas, such as "All that Heaven Allows" (1955), made him believe that Sirk loved people and never caricatured them. Fassbinder also once said Sirk made films "that were just as I would have made them myself."

Just as Fassbinder incorporated elements from Sirk's work into his own, European directors, such as Pedro Almodovar, later drew on Fassbinder's style. The Spaniard discovered Fassbinder's films as a young adult in Madrid and was fascinated by them, particularly by how the characters defied typecasting. Above, a scene from Almodovar's "Labyrinth of Passion" (1982).

Almodovar's early films particularly recall Fassbinder's. Strong and hyperactive women, men trapped between masculine expectations and hidden sensitivity — this can be found in both directors' work. Homosexuality and tension between the sexes are also reoccurring themes. They are often portrayed in an exaggerated and loud manner, but also always with humanity. Shown above: "Kika," from 1993.

Fassbinder's biggest fan in the French-speaking world was Francois Ozon. Particularly the French director's early work contained visual and thematic parallels. Works such as "Sitcom" (1998) and "Water Drops on Burning Rocks" (2000; above), which is based on a play by Fassbinder, recalled the German director's films through its use of aesthetics and character selection.

Ozon's 2002 film, "8 Women," also took inspiration from Fassbinder in its female protagonists; they are strong, energetic women who make diva-like appearances and display capricious behavior. All the characters are different, but one thing unites them: pure emotion, sometimes showed openly and other times hidden behind mask-like demeanor.

In the US, film students quickly became familiar with Fassbinder's work, thanks to its early presence in arthouse cinemas. When looking for traces of his influence, director Todd Haynes stands out. He is yet another a fan of the German director, and his female characters often recall Fassbinder's. Above, a scene from the melodrama "Carol" (2015), starring Rooney Mara (l) and Cate Blanchett (r).

The cameraman Michael Ballhaus (left) worked for Fassbinder for years and became renowned for his innovative cinematography. Then he went to the United States and became Martin Scorsese's director of photography. And so in a way, Fassbinder is also present in some Scorsese films.

In Asia, it is the Shanghai-born director Wong Kar-wai whose work most resembles Fassbinder's. Known for his beautiful shots (above, "In the Mood for Love," 2000), Wong once said that he most admired how Fassbinder directed his female actors: "They are strong women, and he constantly wrapped them in melodramatic events. "

Bong Joon-ho, the Korean filmmaker best known for his Golden Palm and Oscar-winning film "Parasite," told German newspaper "SZ" that he too was an admirer of the German director. "Lack, lust and greed influence people and families," he said, adding that Fassbinder had mastered the art of portraying these human traits.

And in Fassbinder's home country directors were also influenced by his work. For example, Fatih Akin cast Hannah Schygulla in the lead role of his film "The Edge of Heaven" (2007); the actress had starred in several Fassbinder films. At the film's premiere, she said that Akin "reminded me of the young Fassbinder" and that she had been impressed by "this wildness, this naivete."

Powerful, full of wild emotions: Fassbinder and Akin's films have much in common. They also share certain themes. Akin, who was born in Hamburg to Turkish parents, often places cultural conflict at the center of his films, such as in "In the Fade" (2017, picture). Fassbinder's 1974 movie "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" was one of the first films to address cultural tensions.

However, many experts consider a different German director to most reflect Fassbinder: Oskar Roehler. His films bubble over with emotion, sometimes even to an extreme. Characters and dramatic arcs are sometimes overexaggerated or affected. And yet the films present emotional universes that span Germany, as was also the case in Fassbinder's work.

Fassbinder's favorite accessory was the leather jacket. But that's not the young director above; it's the actor Frederick Lau in Roehler's film "Punk Berlin 1982" (2015). The characters in Roehler's films can be imagined as part of Fassbinder's subcultural scene. The movie exudes raw artistry and Fassbinder-esque charm.

It's no coincidence that Oskar Roehler has made a film based on episodes from Fassbinder's life, released in Germany in May 2020. The film, "Enfant Terrible," stars Oliver Masucci as the German director and focuses on Fassbinder's early years.