Handsome French sailor and prostitute Georges Querelle (Brad Davis) is under the command of Lt. Seblon (Franco Nero), who desires him from afar. After arriving in Brest on Le Vengeur, Querelle murders his drug-smuggling partner Vic (Dieter Schidor) and begins visiting a notorious brothel, La Feria. He discovers that his brother Robert (Hanno Pöschl) is the lover of the lady owner, Lysiane (Jeanne Moreau). The brothers meet with a bizarre greeting halfway between a hug and a fighting match. Lysiane's husband Gil Nono (also Hanno Pöschl) tends bar and manages La Feria's underhanded affairs with the assistance of his friend, the corrupt police captain Mario (Burkhard Driest). Querelle plays dice with Nono. If he wins, he is allowed to make love to Lysiane, if he loses, he has to make love with Nono. Querelle deliberately loses, and finds he has a taste for passive gay sex. He falls in love with fellow murderer Nono, who killed a man who publicly insulted his manhood. To keep Nono for himself, Querelle betrays him to the police. But by now Querelle has become vulnerable and soon he belongs to Seblon. Wanted by the police for both his own crime and Querelle's, Nono goes on the lam. Querelle soon finds his hideout, and a strong bond develops between the two murderers--a friendship that will lead Querelle to the greatest love, and the greatest treachery, of his life. Seblon is aware that Querelle murdered Vic, but chooses to protect him. Near the end of the film, Seblon reveals his love and concern to a drunken Querelle, and they kiss and embrace before returning to Le Vengeur.
Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder was in the process of editing "Querelle" when he died of a drug overdose in June 1982. It was his 36th film. Faithfully adapted from Jean Genet's 1947 novel, "Querelle de Brest", Fassbinder considered it his most important film. The documentary "The Wizard of Babylon" partly chronicles the production of "Querelle" and includes the last footage taken of Fassbinder before his death. Peer Raben comosed the music, and the screenplay derived from Genet was written by Burkhard Driest and Fassbinder. The movie is also known as "Querelle--a Pact with the Devil" and "Querelly--ein Pakt mit dem Teufel".
