Visually distinct with its encroaching darkness and and patient, morphing
static imagery, cinematographer Julie Kirkwood makes these simple
shots charged
within a narrow color palette.
Whereas the earlier films, mostly
shot by Dietrich Lohmann, often framed the groups or members of the group in
static tableaux in order to highlight their solidarity and opposition to a lone outsider, this film (Fassbinder's ultimate collaboration with Michael Ballhaus) uses an almost constantly moving camera and a remarkable succession of framing and fracturing devices
within the camera frame to underscore the shifting alliances, individual isolation, and internal struggles of the characters.