Aimée & Jaguar (1999)
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90% of critics liked it
(48 reviews) -
84% of users liked it
(4,910 ratings)
The opening film of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, Aimée & Jaguar drew attention not only for the lesbian love story that it narrates, but equally for the political position of the lovers -- Aimée, the wife of a Nazi officer, and Jaguar, a Jewish journalist. The story is based… More The opening film of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, Aimée & Jaguar drew attention not only for the lesbian love story that it narrates, but equally for the political position of the lovers -- Aimée, the wife of a Nazi officer, and Jaguar, a Jewish journalist. The story is based on the memoirs of Lilly Wust (the Aimée character), who is 85 and still living in Germany. In 1943, as Allied bombers leave Berlin in ruins, Lilly Wust Juliane Köhler earns a Cross of Motherhood for bringing up four children while husband Günther Detlev Buck is away fighting on the eastern front. She leads a bourgeois existence, with occasional love affairs on the side, and the bust of Hitler is a prominent decoration in their flat. When Lilly receives a love letter signed 'Jaguar,' she suspects a male admirer. But it is the self-confident Felice Schragenheim Maria Schrader who initiates this forbidden romance. A passionate love affair begins amidst the bombing raids and the threat of persecution. Madly in love, Lilly wants to divorce her husband, which causes a terrible storm, not just because her lover is a woman, but because she is Jewish and fighting for the Resistance. But nothing stops the love-blind Lilly. The two women make a pact of love and marriage and try to block out the reality of war and persecution; however, the Gestapo soon catches up with them. Aimée & Jaguar is based on Erica Fischer's best-selling book, published in 1994 and translated into eleven languages; the real life Lilly Wust was 80 years old when she told Erica Fischer her story. Maria Schrader and Juliane Köhler shared the Silver Bear for the Best Actress at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, for their roles in Aimée & Jaguar, while the film received the Teddy Award, given to films dealing with gay and lesbian issues. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi
- Directed By
- Max Färberböck
- Written By
- Erika Fischer, Max Färberböck, Rona Munro
- Genres
- Romance, Art House & International, Drama
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 11, 2000 Wide
- On DVD
- Oct 23, 2001
- Studio
- Zeitgeist
Critic Reviews
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Jane Sumner, Dallas Morning News
A vivid slice of life -- and love -- during the 1944 Allied bombardment of Berlin.
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Charles Taylor, Salon.com
The film ... isn't up to the complexities the story raises, but it's a consistently engrossing piece of work.
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Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
This is more than a same-sex success, it's a most affecting, most sensual on-screen love affair, period.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Schrader plays Felice with a kind of doomed and reckless bravery.
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Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
It reminds us that the Holocaust continues to be a vital source for singular, inspirational stories.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Maria Schrader
as Felice Schragenheim ("Jaguar")
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Juliane Köhler
as Lilly Wust ("Aimee")
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Heike Makatsch
as Klaerchen
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Johanna Wokalek
as Ilse
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Elisabeth Degen
as Lotte
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Detlev Buck
as Guenther Wust
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Inge Keller
as Lilly (today)
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Kyra Mladeck
as Ilse (Today)
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Ulrich Matthes
as Eckert
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Peter Weck
as Keller The Editor
- Rosel Zech
- Margit Bendokat
- Jochen Stern
- Hans-Christoph Blumenberg
- Klaus Manchen
- Sarah Camp
- Desiree Nick
- Patrizia Moresco
- Karin Friesecke
- Dani Levy
- Lya Dulitzkaya
- Lia Dultzkaya
