Die Ehe der Maria Braun (The Marriage of Maria Braun) poster & wallpaper

Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Lowitsch, Ivan Desny

This movie follows the life of a young German woman, married to a soldier in the waning days of WWII. Fassbinder has tried to show the gritty life after the end of WWII and the turmoil of the people t...( read more  read more... )rapped in its wake.

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92% liked it

1,617 ratings

R, 120 min.

Directed by: Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Release Date: February 20, 1979

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DVD Release Date: September 30, 2003

Stats: 107 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (107)

  • her69eyes
    August 17, 2009
    her69eyes
    "The Marriage of Maria Braun", released in 1979, comes from the prolific German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The star, Hanna Schygulla, was a frequent collaborator - in fact, she starred in 20 of his features. It would go on to be Fassbinder's biggest commercial and critica...( read more)l success, but it unfortunately came at the tail end of his tragically short career. Three years later, in 1982, Fassbinder would commit suicide at the age of 37.

    The film's opening sequence is pure screwball comedy: in 1943 Germany, Maria (Hanna Schygulla) and Hermann Braun (Klaus Lowitsch) are being wed during an allied bombing raid. After an especially loud explosion, the registrar attempts to flee the premises until the couple chases him down. Finally, the two are made man and wife - a marriage that will last all of a day and a night as Hermann is about to return to the front.

    A friend of Hermann's, Willi (Gottfried John), who is married to one of Maria's best friends, Betti (Elisabeth Trissenaar), returns from the front and delivers the news that Hermann was killed in a skirmish. To support herself, Maria begins work as a hostess at an American bar. There she meets an African American soldier, Bill (George Byrd), whom she begins to like. He attempts to marry her, but she says that Hermann is the only man she'll ever love. One day, before the two are about to make love, Hermann returns. Maria strikes Bill with a bottle, killing him in an instant.

    Hermann takes the blame for the murder, and so Maria must once again find a way to support herself. She meets Karl Oswald (Ivan Desny) on a train, a textile manufacturer, whom she sexually manipulates into getting a job in a management position. She rises through the ranks, doing whatever it takes to buy another pair of nylons, and continues to exploit her postwar sexual and political freedom.

    I will not spoil the ending - but it should be noted that it is a controversial and highly debated one. It's fitting enough, considering Maria's tendency to make decisions without considering the consequences. That being said, it's impossible to see coming.

    Hanna Schygulla is wonderful as Maria, both a great symbol of independent feminism and a downright monstrosity. She's vicious and cruel, but successful nonetheless. Despite appearing in nearly every frame, she remains mysterious and withdrawn from us throughout the entirety of the picture - she has a certain highly erotic mystique that makes her one of the most fascinating of leading women.

    I couldn't quite invest in all of the twists and turns on my first watch. The film, considered one of Fassbinder's most accessible, is far from simplistic. I was consistently curious, but distanced. Looking back, however, i've found that the more I reflect on it, the more i'm aware that it begs for multiple revisits. An evasive film, but one worth studying.
  • jimbotender
    October 2, 2008
    jimbotender
    A doomed marriage,hence a classic leading lady.Oh you Fassbinder,executive persona.
  • Phonex
    July 4, 2009
    Phonex
    everyone of us , who was enemy against Germany , in the second world war , . at the end of war all Europe was destroyed , with millions of death , full of ruins , without
    economy , jobs ,food .
    but in the worst condition was the same the Germany .totally destroyed by the bobs...( read more) of the airplanes
    so ,in this wild society of a nation who was guilty for everything happened , which was in the mercy of winners ,
    with his national fame so criminal , some people try to built a country again .
    one of these persons is Maria Braun .his husband is missing and she decide to change her destiny ..
    Written by doctorfaoust
  • exureimundo
    June 20, 2009
    exureimundo
    Great film in every way... Hanna Schygulla is incredible in every Fassbinder film she's done. This one was just a little boring compared to most of their collaborations, but it's still great.
  • onomatopee
    February 18, 2009
    onomatopee
    My first Fassbinder movie and i'm completely under his charm. What a movie! Hanna Schygulla was perfect in every single way. Great story which brings many many emotions.
  • hypathio7
    December 22, 2008
    hypathio7
    nominated for best foreign film by NBR and at the golden globes
  • xxxcli213xxx
    December 15, 2008
    xxxcli213xxx
    no thanks not my thing
  • peterazen1
    July 30, 2008
    peterazen1
    the ending and hanna schygulla saves this film
  • jomcne01
    March 22, 2008
    jomcne01
    It's a testimony to the brilliance of Rainer Werner Fassbinder that this movie is as emotionally moving as it is intellectually fascinating, and that it's funny the whole way through. Take it as a symbolic portrayal of the adaptation of the German national soul following the defe...( read more)at of Hitler or as the heart-wrenching story of one woman's quest for her one true love or as the darkest of dark jokes. It's all three. It also contains the best line I've ever heard: "Dance with me, Mr. Bill."
  • abaslareine
    March 3, 2008
    abaslareine
    J,aime tellement cette femme sa détresse elle marque une génération de film

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  • Epicouros
    January 28, 2008
    Epicouros
    everyone of us , who was enemy against Germany , in the second world war , . at the end of war all Europe was destroyed , with millions of death , full of ruins , without
    economy , jobs ,food .
    but in the worst condition was the same the Germany .totally destroyed by the bobs of the airplanes
    so ,in this wild society of a nation who was guilty for everything happened , which was in the mercy of winners ,
    with his national fame so criminal , some people try to built a country again .
    one of these persons is Maria Braun .his husband is missing and she decide to change her destiny ..
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