Plot

Peter Von Kant, a successful, famous director, lives with his assistant Karl, whom he likes to mistreat and humiliate. Through the great actress Sidonie, he meets and falls in love with Amir, a handsome young man of modest means.

French filmmaker François Ozons has taken Rainer Werner Fassbinder's play "The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant" and turned the original's fashion designer Petra into the film director Peter, who in turn resembles Fassbinder in all his confusing facets. As in the play, boy meets boy in Ozon's film. This time, however, the aging but still beautiful film star Sidonie (Isabelle Adjani) comes to the apartment of 39-year-old German film director Peter von Kant (Denis Ménochet). She brings 23-year-old Amir (Khalil Gharbia) with her, whom Peter immediately takes to his heart. Peter brings Amir to the cinema and promises to make a star out of him. A difficult, in many cases abusive relationship develops, which leads to emotional sadomasochism. Peter mentally abuses the boy, but the boy finds ways to return the favor. Amir may look innocent, but in reality he is no innocent either. He tries to manipulate Peter, which is not so easy because Peter is an experienced manipulator. Peter also turns the violence on himself, seeming to enjoy destroying his body, mind and soul with sex, drugs and prodigious amounts of alcohol. Peter's abuse eventually extends to Sidonie, his daughter Gabrielle (Aminthe Audiard) and his mother (Hanna Schygulla), who have arrived to celebrate his 40th birthday. And then there is Peter's taciturn assistant Karl (Stéfan Crépon), who suffers the most from the toxic climate surrounding Peter.—SRF