''The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty'' (german: Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter) is a 1972 German-language drama film directed by Wim Wenders. It is also known as ''The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick''. It was adapted from the novel with the same title by

Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...

Plot

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

is sent off during a game for dissent. He spends the night with a cinema cashier, whom he afterwards kills. Although a type of

detective film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

, it is more slow moving and contemplative than other films of the

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

. It explores the monotony of the murderer's existence and, like many of Wenders' films, the overwhelming cultural influence of America in post-war West Germany.

Origin of the title

Late in the movie, the goalkeeper and a traveling salesman attend a football game, and witness a penalty kick. The goalkeeper describes what it is like to face a penalty: should he dive to one side, and if he does will the kicker aim for the other? It is a psychological confrontation in which each tries to outfox the other. In parallel with this, the goalkeeper, rather than go on the run, has returned to his home town and is living in plain sight. He doesn't know if the police are looking for him in particular, and the police are not necessarily looking for someone who isn't trying to hide.

References

External links

Official website
* * 1972 films 1972 drama films German drama films Austrian drama films West German films 1970s German-language films Films based on Austrian novels Films based on works by Peter Handke Films directed by Wim Wenders Films set in West Germany German association football films Films with screenplays by Peter Handke Films scored by Jürgen Knieper 1970s German films {{sport-film-stub

Plot

Origin of the title

References

Further reading

External links