Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

Frau Emma Küsters prepares dinner late one seemingly-ordinary afternoon in her seemingly-ordinary Frankfurt kitchen. She wants to add canned sausages to the stew; her irritating daughter-in-law thinks otherwise. But the point is moot: Ernst Küsters has not only murdered the personnel director at the soap factory where he's employed but succeeded that by committing suicide.

Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven leans on a strong ensemble — Brigitte Mira, Ingrid Caven, Margit Carstensen — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1975.