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The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
The only thing I knew about this film before watching, was that it was in German, and I assumed that it featured a lady called Maria Braun and that somewhere she gets married.
The opening scene is indeed the wedding of Maria Braun, who is marrying Hermann (a German soldier) before who goes off to war. They have one afternoon and evening together before he leaves.
When the war ends Maria is waiting for her husband to come home, before hearing from a source that he may be dead.
The film documents the journey of Maria through that time and beyond. I will leave it there, as I don't want to be the revealing spoilers.
What I liked
Maria - The character of Maria is wonderfully complex, strong, focused, calculated and a little bit dangerous. She was acted superbly by Hanna Schygulla. It really was a great performance. I found her captivating in terms of her on screen presence but also the character.
The story - The story kept me engaged. The end game was revealed early on and although the journey twisted and changed throughout the film, I was always conscious of what Maria was striving for and was willing her to succeed in that.
Acting- I felt that the acting was largely strong over all. There were some performances that were more wooden than Pinocchio, but overall the acting was believable. It helped transmit the personalities and emotions of each character, which always helps when you are reading subtitles to obtain the dialogue.
What could have been better
The film was maybe slightly too long for what was happening on screen.
There were a few things that had me scratching my head, in the case of character behaviour, but I assume that is the case for most films that I watch.
A couple of times some characters were doing something and having a good old chat, but there was little context as to why the characters were where they were, and why they were indded there together. Maybe some things were just lost in translation.
Summary
I enjoyed this film for what it was. A story of love, yet a story of so much more. With that said, the title sums it up perfectly. It is indeed a film about Maria's marriage.
The main character and the actress that played her, commanded the screen from the start to the end. By the end of the film, I felt that I really knew Maria.
As I watched the film, it almost felt like reading a book. That was helped by the subtitles but also by the fact that you are watching a persons life, rather than it focusing on a snapshot or a single event within that life. You are viewing her Marriage to her husband and everything that happens within that and because of that.
And at the end it did feel like I had finished a good book.
So glad that it was nominated.
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
The only thing I knew about this film before watching, was that it was in German, and I assumed that it featured a lady called Maria Braun and that somewhere she gets married.
The opening scene is indeed the wedding of Maria Braun, who is marrying Hermann (a German soldier) before who goes off to war. They have one afternoon and evening together before he leaves.
When the war ends Maria is waiting for her husband to come home, before hearing from a source that he may be dead.
The film documents the journey of Maria through that time and beyond. I will leave it there, as I don't want to be the revealing spoilers.
What I liked
Maria - The character of Maria is wonderfully complex, strong, focused, calculated and a little bit dangerous. She was acted superbly by Hanna Schygulla. It really was a great performance. I found her captivating in terms of her on screen presence but also the character.
The story - The story kept me engaged. The end game was revealed early on and although the journey twisted and changed throughout the film, I was always conscious of what Maria was striving for and was willing her to succeed in that.
Acting- I felt that the acting was largely strong over all. There were some performances that were more wooden than Pinocchio, but overall the acting was believable. It helped transmit the personalities and emotions of each character, which always helps when you are reading subtitles to obtain the dialogue.
What could have been better
The film was maybe slightly too long for what was happening on screen.
There were a few things that had me scratching my head, in the case of character behaviour, but I assume that is the case for most films that I watch.
A couple of times some characters were doing something and having a good old chat, but there was little context as to why the characters were where they were, and why they were indded there together. Maybe some things were just lost in translation.
Summary
I enjoyed this film for what it was. A story of love, yet a story of so much more. With that said, the title sums it up perfectly. It is indeed a film about Maria's marriage.
The main character and the actress that played her, commanded the screen from the start to the end. By the end of the film, I felt that I really knew Maria.
As I watched the film, it almost felt like reading a book. That was helped by the subtitles but also by the fact that you are watching a persons life, rather than it focusing on a snapshot or a single event within that life. You are viewing her Marriage to her husband and everything that happens within that and because of that.
And at the end it did feel like I had finished a good book.
So glad that it was nominated.