The Third Generation

The Third Generation (Die dritte Generation) is a 1979 West German black comedy written, directed and photographed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Subtitled a "comedy in six parts," the crime satire draws on the late-1970s climate of left-wing terrorism, reflecting the director's impressions of the Red Army Faction. Its plot follows an ineffectual cell of underground terrorists in Berlin who scheme to kidnap an industrialist.

Each of the film's six sections opens with an epigraph taken from graffiti found in a public restroom. Featuring an ensemble cast including Hanna Schygulla, Margit Carstensen, Eddie Constantine, Bulle Ogier, Harry Baer and Udo Kier, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 13 May 1979.