About

Commissioned by German television as an eight part serial, Eight Hours Don't Make a Day was envisioned as a family miniseries about the lives of the working class. Only five episodes were completed, as German trade unionists who felt misrepresented derailed production on the remaining instalments. But the series effectively exposed Fassbinder to a mass audience, reaching nearly six million viewers. A portrait of three generations of an eccentric and genial working-class family, the show addressed social realities while making no pretensions about the economic background of its characters. Fassbinder depicts them tenderly, making their daily struggles relatable as they stage demonstrations at city hall and mobilise workers against factory management. In an interview about the series Fassbinder stated, "We're not interested in an analysis of conditions; we want to give people courage. As a group, there exist possibilities that an individual doesn't have. That's a good thing, and it can lead to something." This call to social solidarity makes Eight Hours Don't Make a Day one of Fassbinder's most humanist works.

Ages 15+