''The Tenderness of Wolves'' (german: Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe) is a 1973 West German

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Ulli Lommel Ulli Lommel (21 December 1944 – 2 December 2017) was a German actor and director, noted for his many collaborations with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his association with the New German Cinema movement. Lommel spent time at The Factory and was ...

. The story is based on the crimes of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

and

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

Fritz Haarmann Friedrich Heinrich Karl "Fritz" Haarmann (25 October 1879 – 15 April 1925) was a German serial killer, known as the Butcher of Hanover, the Vampire of Hanover and the Wolf Man, who committed the sexual assault, murder, mutilation and dismember ...

. It was written by

Kurt Raab Kurt Raab (20 July 1941 – 28 June 1988) was a West German stage and film actor, as well as a screenwriter and playwright. Raab is best remembered for his work with German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, with whom he collaborated on 31 ...

, who also stars in the film, and produced by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

. It was entered into the

23rd Berlin International Film Festival The 23rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1973. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Indian film ''Ashani Sanket'' by Satyajit Ray. Jury The following people were announced as being on the jury for the fes ...

Plot

In war-torn

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, a string of violent murders of young men and boys plagues a small town. The culprit is Fritz Haarman, a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

man with a history of petty crimes who works in the community as a government inspector. After carrying out the murders, Fritz butchers the bodies of his victims and he sells the meat to local restaurants and consumes it with his circle of unknowing friends, among them Luise, an aging proprietor of a local restaurant. Among the locals, Fritz has a reputation for exchanging money for sex with teenage boys. While checking identification cards at a train station one night, Fritz encounters a teenage boy there alone, and without identification. Instead of bringing him to the police, Fritz brings him to his home and seduces him. He subsequently kills and butchers him, and then dines on the meat with his fellow

s. Meanwhile, Fritz carries on a tempestuous relationship with his adult male lover, Hans, engaging in petty schemes to make money. Fritz's neighbor, Frau Linder, who lives in the apartment below him, is suspicious of Fritz, and takes note of odd noises she hears coming from his apartment in the middle of the night. On one occasion, Fritz kidnaps and kills a young boy. Frau Linder witnesses him leaving the apartment in the middle of the night with several bundles of matter wrapped in parchment paper. She follows him as he disposes of the bundles in the

Ruhr River __NOTOC__ The Ruhr is a river in western Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia), a right tributary (east-side) of the Rhine. Description and history The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an ...

. The next day, Fritz socializes with Dora, his friend, and approaches a teenage piano player in a restaurant. He asks the boy to visit him at his home later, which he obliges. There, Fritz strangles him to death before biting his neck and engaging in

necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving Cadaver, corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) ...

with the body. Hans and Dora subsequently arrive at Fritz's apartment, and are shocked to see the boy's body lying in Fritz's bed. Fritz assures Dora he is only sleeping, and asks her to leave. When she returns, the body has disappeared, Hans having helped conceal the crime. Meanwhile, Frau Linder continues to covertly spy on Fritz, and attempts to have police investigate. Hans subsequently ends his relationship with Fritz, leaving Fritz bereft. Meanwhile, Fritz continues to kidnap and murder young boys and men. Unbeknownst to him, Hans goes to police with his knowledge of Fritz's crimes. Police stage a raid on Fritz's apartment as he brings another teenage boy to his apartment. Just as he bites into the teenager's throat, police break into the apartment, alarmed by the young man's screams. Fritz is taken from the apartment in a rage. Intertitles reveal that Fritz was executed for his crimes.

Cast

Release

''The Tenderness of Wolves'' was released on 29 June 1973. The film was released in the UK in May 1976 The 2015 Blu-ray release in the USA and the UK by Arrow Video offered a new high definition digital transfer of the film as well as an introduction and audio commentary by

Reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

rated the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling it " a nasty little melodrama, lurid and creepy and sometimes bordering on demented humor. It's the kind of movie we may not exactly enjoy, but we don't walk out on."

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave the film a positive review, commending the film's performances, cinematography, and direction. Dennis Schwartz from ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'' awarded the film a grade A, calling it "A wickedly entertaining but harrowing tale"; praising the film's

expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

style, direction, and Raab's performance. Chris Coffel from

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

praised the film for its historical accuracy, and unconventional narrative, stating that it was arguably Lommel's best film. Clayton Dillard of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' awarded the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, writing "If ''Tenderness of the Wolves'' works on a reflexive register, it’s due to Raab’s performance, which consistently displays his own homosexuality in a fashion that blurs lines between fiction and documentary, albeit a bit coarsely, since Lommel often trains his camera on Haarmann’s sexual encounters to milk their exploitative potential."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenderness Of Wolves, The 1973 films 1970s biographical films 1973 LGBT-related films 1970s serial killer films Biographical films about serial killers Films about cannibalism Films directed by Ulli Lommel German drama films 1970s German-language films German LGBT-related films West German films Films about rape Cultural depictions of Fritz Haarmann Films set in Germany 1973 drama films 1970s German films