The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)

The Marriage of Maria Braun
Directed by Ranier Werner Fassbinder
Written by Ranier Werner Fassbinder, Pea Frohlich and Peter Marthesheimer
1979/West Germany
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Karl Oswald: Afraid someone will think we’re having an affair?
Maria Braun: I don’t care what people think. I do care what you think. And you’re not having an affair with me. I’m having an affair with you.

I love Fassbinder and this movie has become a favorite on first viewing.

Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann Braun (Klaus Lowitsch) during the final days of WWII. They enjoy half a day and a whole night together before he is sent to the front. He is then listed MIA for months and months. She refuses to believe he is dead and searches for him at train stations for awhile then gives up looking and gets a job as a bar girl at a US GI bar. She takes up almost immediately with a generous black soldier.

Later, Hermann returns and finds her in the arms of the soldier. But he doesn’t stick around long as he takes the rap for a crime Maria has committed and goes to jail.

Maria faithfully visits him. She launches herself into big business with the help of another lover but Hermann is the only man for Maria. Maria is a great success but this will not prevent the story in proceeding to an unforgettable ironic climax.

This film has many things to say about German post-war politics, the German Economic miracle, and the vagaries of love and human nature. Schygulla is simply mesmerizing and the film is shot with the utmost style and care. Highly recommended.