Plot Summary

When 22-year-old Rainer Werner Fassbinder stormed the stage of the small, progressive Antiteater in Munich in 1967 and unceremoniously usurped the production, no one present suspected that this brash guy would one day become one of Germany's most important post-war filmmakers. The engaging and demanding man quickly gathers numerous actresses, self-promoters and lovers around him. Despite early setbacks, he makes one film after the next, many of which cause sensations at the festivals in Berlin and Cannes. The young director polarizes: professionally as well as privately. His radical views and self-exploitation, as well as his longing for love, have made him one of the most fascinating film directors of this time. But the work mania, the physical self-exploitation of all involved and the unchecked drug consumption soon claim their first victims.