The Merchant of Four Seasons

The Merchant of Four Seasons is a 1972 West German film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring and Irm Hermann. The plot follows the life of a fruit-peddler, living in 1950s Munich, who is driven over the edge by an uncaring society. The title derives from the French expression for a fruit and vegetable seller, un marchand des quatre-saisons. The film explores issues of class prejudices, domestic violence, infidelity, family discord, depression and self-destructive behavior. Plot Munich, the 1950s. Hans Epp, an ordinary but likable man, returns home after spending several years in the French Foreign Legion. He is berated by his mother ("The good die young, and people like you come back", she says after hearing about the death of the young friend Hans had taken to the army with him). Hans works as a fruit peddler, calling out his products and diligently making his rounds through the residential streets. Short and stocky, he is married to the slim and taller Irmgard, who helps him with his work. They have a small daughter, Renate. One day Hans sells fruit to an attractive married woman in an apartment building. She asks him to deliver the pears in person and invites him in, but he refuses, saying "some other time." The woman is the great love of Hans's life since his youth. When the suspicious Irmgard questions why it took so long, he escapes her incessant complaints by abandoning his cart and going into a nearby bar. Soon, the sad ritual of his empty existence emerges: arguing with his wife, drinking excessively, lamenting lost personal and professional opportunities. While in the bar, Hans gets sentimental about his golden days as a policeman. In a flashback, he recalls how one day he brought a prostitute to the police station to take a statement, but she lured him into having oral sex. Caught by his superior, this incident got him fired. Irmgard appears at the bar to fetch him, but a drunk Hans says he will come home when he wants to. When his wife does not leave fast enough, he throws a chair at her. Finally Hans comes home intoxicated. Irmgard calls him a pig and he beats her up in front of their little daughter. The next morning, Irmgard has disappeared and Hans is desperate.