Year: 1979
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Country: West Germany
Language: German
Rainer Werner Fassbinder is one of the greatest German directors in the history of cinema, alongside such greats as Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire) and Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo). His well known directing abilities have won him countless awards.An openly homosexual man with serious drug problems, the number of films he made exceeded 40 in only 13 years. One of which was over 15 hours long. The Marriage of Maria Braun is not nearly as long, but it's quite an astonishing work of art.
This incredible film follows the life of a young German woman, married to a soldier in the waning days of WWII. Fassbinder has tried to examine and portray the gritty life after the end of WWII for the German people and the turmoil of the people trapped in its wake.
The very first shot in this film is of Germany in 1943, an allied bombing raid which disrupts a small wedding ceremony in progress with the bride and groom scrambling for safety.The bride is the title character, Maria Braun. Her husband is leaving soon and she is left to survive on her own in post-war Germany. In time Maria Braun begins to use her beauty, sexuality and brains to survive the horrors of the war while her husband is off fighting. During this time she has multiple affairs but is bluntly honest to her lovers. Over the years this woman slowly becomes domineering, manipulative, strong and cruel.If nothing else, this film is a fascinating character study. It's incredible yet tragic poetry in motion.
The Marriage of Maria Braun skilfully depicts the sense of determination and the sheer triumph of will that went towards rebuilding Germany from the ashes of the Second World War through the eyes of a resolute young woman willing to push her own emotional stability to breaking point in order to secure a better future for her and her incarcerated husband. There are also many other different ways you can analyze the character of Maria Braun and the situation that she is in.
In conclusion, The Marriage of Maria Braun is a brilliant film by a legendary director whom would continue to make more great films until his early death in the early eighties. The film speaks volumes regarding sexual politics and features an astounding acting performance by Hannah Schygulla. The Criterion Collection edition of this is fantastic, but may not be worth the $200+ it costs to buy it on amazon. Praise it! 5/5
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