short takes (3)

Rainer Werner Fassbender makes more movies in a year than some directors make in a decade. His newest, In a Year of 13 Moons, is about the tribulations of a transsexual. In the usual Fassbinder manner, it's a social commentary, a tribute to Hollywood melodrama, an indictment of capitalism, and something of a soap opera. It's also unremittingly grim, and contains images so harsh and morbid as to be almost unwatchable.