Filmed in black and white, with extraordinary delicacy and reserve, this is one of Fassbinder's best films.

It's visually beguiling -- its cameramen having found shades of gray between black and white I'm not sure I've seen before -- and it is performed by the Fassbinder stock company with the precision and style one seldom finds outside the legitimate theater.

The slow, deliberate pace is sometimes taxing, but this story of a 16-year-old girl locked in the boredom of a loveless marriage is perfectly suited to Fassbinder's stifling mise-en-scene.

The best collaboration between Fassbinder and frequent star Schygulla, who delivers a truly affecting turn in the title role.