Ali: Fear Eats the Soul12A

Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder | West Germany | 1974 | 1h 33m | Arabic & German w/ English subtitles | Starring Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Barbara Valentin, Irm Hermann, Elma Karlowa

During a rainstorm, a sixty-year-old German widow visits a bar frequented by Arab migrants and befriends a younger man from Morocco. As their friendship blossoms into romance, they face growing challenges from the xenophobic and ageist prejudice surrounding them. Renowned German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, inspired by his cinematic hero Douglas Sirk, created a romantic melodrama of his own that is now widely regarded as a pinnacle of the New German Cinema movement of the 1970s.

Reviews

‘The performances are flawless; the themes remain timely.’
★★★★★
Wendy Ide, The Observer

‘Fassbinder made so many incredible films, but this is certainly up there with his finest.’
★★★★★
David Jenkin, Little White Lies

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Ali: Fear Eats the Soul between July 7, 2024 and July 10, 2024.

Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.

What else is on?

Tomorrow (Sunday 28th June)

12:45

Matilda PG
Kino Kids Cinema Club
1h 38m
Brilliant young Matilda discovers friendship and encouragement from her teacher, Miss Honey, while facing the terrifying Miss Trunchbull and her neglectful parents. This Roald Dahl adaptation celebrates courage, kindness, and standing up for what is right.

Book here

15:00

Savage House 15
1h 54m
When ruthless social climbers Sir Chauncey and Lady Savage secure a dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, their ambitions collide with pox, Jacobite uprising, and bloodshed. Claire Foy and Richard E. Grant star in this sharp period comedy about class and power.

Book here

17:45

Time and Water PG
1h33m
Author Andri Snær Magnason weaves family archives, traditional song, and Icelandic folklore into an elegy for a disappearing landscape. An urgent, deeply personal documentary about memory, loss, and living through irreversible change, from director Sara Dosa (Fire of Love).

Book here

20:00

Legally Blonde 12A
+ Introduction
1h 36m
Reese Witherspoon is irresistible in this beloved rom-com-turned-courtroom triumph. Dumped and underestimated, sorority queen Elle Woods storms Harvard Law, proving sharp wit and a killer wardrobe are all you need. Part of the Oxford Comedy Festival 2026.

Book here


Monday 29th June

18:00

Legally Blonde 12A
1h 36m
Reese Witherspoon is irresistible in this beloved rom-com-turned-courtroom triumph. Dumped and underestimated, sorority queen Elle Woods storms Harvard Law, proving sharp wit and a killer wardrobe are all you need. Part of the Oxford Comedy Festival 2026.

Book here

20:15

Obsession 18
1h 49m
Bear pines for his friend Nikki but can't confess his feelings, until a lucky charm does the work for him. In this sharp, darkly comic horror debut, getting what you want proves to have a terrible, skin-crawling cost.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!