Tenderness of the Wolves

Tenderness of the Wolf (1973) is an excellent film about a serial killer living in war torn Germany. Fritz Haarman was a pedophile psychopath who lived during WWI Germany (the time period in the movie was moved up to WWII). Ulli Lommel's style of directing was a nod to Fritz Lang and the other German expressionist filmmakers of the the 20's and 30's. Beware, I must warn you that this film has some strong adult content matter that most people will find repulsing. But those who are open minded will find this movie an interesting and honest portrait of a madman. Lommel and Kurt Raab (who also wrote the screenplay) portray Fritz Haarman as a tortured soul who can never truly express himself or convey his emotions. In his twisted mind he sees no harm in what he does. Several Fassbinder stock players have supporting and minor roles in this picture including Fassbinder (he cameos as a real shady slug). Kurt Raab does an excellent character study of one of Germany's most notorious serial killers.

Highly recommended (if you can stomach the content).