Jim Clark leads his (must read) review with "Whity is simultaneously entertaining and deeply disturbing" -- Fasbinder reinvents the conventions of the American Western movie genre -- Most commentaries seem to focus on this aspect of the film -- But as I have thought about the film now several days after first view, it seems to me that the "Western" genre is a convenient structure but not of prime importance --
Whity is the butler for a wealthy dysfunctional family of the Spanish West, illegitimate son of the patriarch, Benjamin Nicholson (Ron Randal) and their black cook (Marpessa) -- In addition to his beautiful young second wife, Katherine, Nicholson has two sons, Davy and Frank -- Whity and a beautiful salon singer and prostitute, Hanna (Hanna Schygulla), are in love -- a relationship prohibited by the culture -- Nicholson is a sadist who regularly beats his sons, including Whity --
Whity is a very beautiful film -- The cinematography is superb -- There are many great scenes, one in particular that follows the characters in one continuous shoot from the interior balcony of a saloon down a flight of stairs to the bar, then to a card table for a hand of poke (that includes Fassbinder among the players), and to the floor where Hanna sings two songs -- In all, about four minutes of a continuous filming with zooms and close-ups --
The pacing of the film is very slow, at first it seemed to be excruciating so -- Very dream-like with sparse dialogue -- I had negative feelings early in my viewing -- But by the end found it very effective --
There is general agreement that Whity is a very personal allegory-- Fassbinder explores themes such as racism, gender identity, domination/submission, homoeroticism, incest, bestiality, sadomasochism, prostitution and other forms of economic exploitation -- To me, however, it is Fassbinder's exploration of family that stands out -- Even with the extreme dysfunctionality and abuse of the Nicholson family, Whity, when offered an escape by Hanna (using her money), responds "I'm staying with my family; I'm fond of them; all of them" --
Quite a few commentators have called Whity the best movie ever made -- While I've given Whity a rating of nine - at the top of my ratings - saying that it is the best movie ever is a bit like me praising a recently devoured very hard supermarket pear as the best apple ever.