so berlin alexanderplatz is fassbinder's big deal, right? i'm about halfway through the series and am still not sure what i think of the whole thing. i can't stand the main character (or anyone else, for that matter), and feel like the whole thing could have been wrapped up in a fraction of the time.

when a filmmaker chooses to luxuriate in detail or has a meditative storytelling technique that is one thing (eg bela tarr). but berlin alexanderplatz feels long because he contractually had to produce x number of hours of tv. i'm probably wrong here, but it has that feeling.

i love fassbinder. and nearly all of the 15 or so films of his i've seen so far. i love his unlikeable characters with their tedious troubles. but i'm not sure i love berlin alexanderplatz yet.

only another thousand hours or so to go before i find out.