Review of Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?

Great film. While a kind of unusual Fassbinder film (if a Fassbinder film at all since here in the trivia section it says that he had very little to do with the film) Why does herr R run amok fits nicely into his filmography theme-wise. The hand held camera cinematography, along with the title of the film and the seemingly meaningless character interactions give the film a found footage kind of feeling that make every little vocal inflection or gesture seem like a foreshadowing of an imminent disaster. The film however is smart enough to dodge any kind of reasoning to Herr R's acts. Sure his life was relatively miserable, his job was unfulfilling and stressful but there is no one big motive that leads directly to his deed at the end of the film. And it's that specific subjectivity that makes this film so powerful and shocking.