"The Niklashausen Journey"
1970
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

A shepherd claims to have been visited by the Virgin Mary and leads a revolt against the church and wealthy landowners in this radical feature that Fassbinder co-directed with Michael Fengler, his collaborator on Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? "As Godard's Weekend captured the anarchic spirit of France in the sixties, this rarely seen Fassbinder film reflected sexual and political upheaval in Germany...Fassbinder gleefully jumbles the worlds of medieval Europe, the (then) Third World, postwar Germany and the Roccoco period" (Cinematheque Ontario). Starring Michael Konig, Hanna Schygulla, Margit Carstensen, Kurt Raab, and Fassbinder himself as the Black Monk. Made for German television. German with English subtitles.  86 minutes.