Fox and His Friends

Fox and His Friends (; also known as Fist-Right of Freedom) is a 1975 West German drama film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Fassbinder, Peter Chatel and Karlheinz Böhm. The plot follows the misadventures of a working-class gay man who wins the lottery, then falls in love with the elegant son of an industrialist. His lover tries to mold him into a gilt-edged mirror of upper-class values, and ultimately swindles the easily flattered "Fox" out of his fortune. The film is an incisive look at the relationship between money and emotions. Love is seen as a commodity that can be bought for money and lasts only as long as it is profitable. Plot Franz Bieberkopf is a sweet and unsophisticated working-class gay man who works in a carnival as "Fox, the Talking Head". He loses his job when his boyfriend Klaus, the carnival owner, is arrested for tax fraud. Fox visits his alcoholic sister Hedwig who cannot help. After losing his remaining money, Fox meets an older man, Max, a sophisticated antique art dealer. Fox swindles ten marks from an overweight gay florist and buys a lottery ticket. A month later at a party, Max introduces Fox to his cultured gay friends. The handsome but hypocritical Eugen shuns Fox for his proletarian manners, but quickly changes his mind when he learns that Fox has won 500,000 German marks in the lottery. Eugen leaves his boyfriend, Philip, and brings Fox to his apartment where they sleep together. The next morning, Philip finds them together, but Eugen convinces Philip to temporarily step aside. Later, Fox and Eugen go to a working-class gay bar and then to an up-market restaurant, where they meet Eugen's two other friends. Eugen takes Fox to his new factory. Later, Fox goes to a gay spa and talks to Max, who suggests investing in Eugen's company. Eugen gets evicted from his apartment for moral reasons (two men living together), so he convinces Fox to buy them an apartment and furniture from Max. Fox buys them clothes at Eugen's ex-boyfriend Philip's shop. Later, they have lunch at Eugen's parents' home and Fox has no table manners. He signs a contract for a 100,000-Mark loan, which he barely understands, for Eugens father's failing business. Fox lends 30,000 marks to his ex Klaus, which makes Eugen jealous. At the apartment, they throw a party, during which Philip whispers to Max that he might be living there later; the party ends abruptly when Hedwig, drunk, makes a fuss.