About

In the quiet Bavarian hamlet of Ingolstadt, a group of bored German military recruits assigned to build a bridge seek relief through sex, alcohol, and occasional brutality. "Where there is no war, we'll have to make one," the soldiers exclaim. While the cynical housemaid Alma (Irm Hermann) throws herself at the men for money, idealist Berta (Hanna Schygulla) quickly falls for a handsome, disaffected soldier (Harry Baer). As the bridge nears completion and the men prepare to leave, disillusionment sets in. Adapted from a 1929 play by Brecht protégé Marieluise Fleißer, Pioneers in Ingolstadt is the last film Fassbinder made during his formative period. This is evidenced by his alternating use of the alienation effect of Brechtian theatre so prominent in his early films and the Sirkian melodrama that would become the basis for his later work. The first of his films to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival, Pioneers in Ingolstadt was a crucial turning point in Fassbinder's career.

Ages 15+