Herman walks in on them, in bed, and after a confrontation between him and the American, Maria killed the American. The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) I was introduced to New German Cinema 27 years ago in college, with a History of Film class screening of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Fox and his Friends.Although I remember little about it now, I recall being so put off by its flat griminess that it's taken me over two decades to open myself up to exploring more from that influential movement. Film data from TMDb. He ranks it on his chart at #35 / 1788 (98%), putting it at the top of his list of 26 New German Cinema entries. "The Marriage of Maria Braun" tells the story of post-war Germany as seen by a young woman, the title character Maria Braun. For PopGap, I've watched four Werner Herzog movies from that era over the last three years, plus one each from Wim Wenders and Volker Schlöndorff, with mildly negative to happy results, and thought that, now, I might be ready to face Fassbinder once again. The character of Maria is fascinating as a person, but it also serves as an allegory for Germany during this period of reconstruction, now generally referred to as the "economic miracle" ("Wirtschaftswunder"). The country is in shambles; one sees people leaving everything that they are busy with for a cigarette. Fassbinder's mise en scène is, sometimes, just as good, with many visually gripping frames — especially those that contrast Maria's careful appearance with a world in ruins. There is a strong resemblance of 'Maria Braun' to Curtiz' noirish 'Mildred Pierce'. Sensual and tough Maria Braun. . The Marriage Of Maria Braun. Her virginal entrance into marriage is an assumption. . User Ratings Explosions continue as Maria takes cover on the ground, surrounded by destruction and chaos she is helpless yet alive. The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) was the first part of director Rainer Werner Fassbinder's celebrated trilogy of films that looked specifically at the period following the end of the Second World War, and in particular, the socio-political and economic re-birth of Germany following the Wirtschaftswunder. Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. There are food shortages. Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. It is one of the finest films of its type -- post WW2 in Germany -- that I've ever seen; perhaps on balance the finest. Maria's former life is non-existent. Goethe's Faust has bequeathed to following generations the tantalizing, romantic notion that vital living is constituted by continually deferred satisfaction, by a series of animating and enabling desires that pursue one another without contentment. I remember being stunned by the films of Fassbinder in the 70s but less impressed into the 80s and somewhat dismissive by the time of his early death. Just see it.". She carries on with her life, becomes a successful businesswoman being not only sensual but intelligent, ambitious, and willing to use sex whenever or wherever necessary: "I don't know a thing about business, but I do know what German women want. Alright already, get over it, was Handke's comment to the 1968 meeting of the Gruppe 48 -- those writers who wanted to "heal" from the war. Although I remember little about it now, I recall being so put off by its flat griminess that it's taken me over two decades to open myself up to exploring more from that influential movement. It's possible to read The Marriage of Maria Braun as a study of a country in the grip of a post-war identity crisis; or a feminist critique of the obstacles facing determined women even within a system that appears to have been destroyed; or, at times, as a satire of Douglas Sirk-ian melodrama in juxtaposition with the cruel realities of conflict. so many different, complex kinds…, "She's an old angel with a kitten soul. To be just as cold as required. Perhaps it's just as well that I waited. Hermann gets out of jail but goes to Canada to try and get over everything that Maria has done since he has been locked up. The film begins as she's getting married amidst the chaos of the last day of World War II in 1945, and much of what follows has to do with the peculiar way in which she devotes herself to her absent, yet somehow always present, idealized husband. Hanna Schygulla is good as the lead symbol, a war bride whose calculated sexual aggressiveness (a symbol of West Germany's rapaciousness) brings her to prominence in industry while she pines for her husband, who is imprisoned for murder. Although Maria gets pregnant she does not have the child giving one the idea that Germany is unfit for all young life and Maria is unfit for motherhood. The film is overlong and lacking sympathetic characters but stands out from much cinema of the time as being far more individualistic and opinionated. Thumbs down. Just as Mildred's loyalty was to her daughter, for Maria it was her husband Hermann (her man?).

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