The Marriage of Maria Braun

Maria is an interesting character. Her methods are cold but her intentions are passionate. It's a fine line between cruelty and necessity. We are simultaneously charmed and repelled by her determination and ruthless will. Supposedly an allegory for Germany, it succeeds in reflecting the conflict Germans must feel about their own nation.

There's something missing here - this was my entry into Fassbinder and it just doesn't interest me that much anymore. More interesting to think about than watch, mainly due to Maria being an unlikeable shrew and an uncharacteristically restrained camera. This review is coming off more negative then it actually is, I just have higher expectations of Fassbinder now.

Begins with an explosion and ends with an explosion and in between there's a lot of ruthless sexual manipulation and hard-nosed dialogue and a phenomenal performance by Hanna Schygulla. This film strikes me as excessively, wonderfully German.

Not entirely fair, because I knew I wouldn't like this film even before I've began watching, but again - Who Cares? After all, it is Fassbinder, and he deserves Hatred.

Beyond being an allegory for Germany (and I'm not sure if the allegory is very effective), Maria is a fascinating character in her own right. Brutally honest and forthright, completely in control of her own destiny and yet entirely unfulfilled, and cold and calculating almost to the point of cruelty. And yet she does what she does out of passion and devotion. The cinematography is excellent. I still feel like I don't really "get" Fassbinder, but I found this film to be pretty engaging.

This was my first Fassbinder and I was actually miffed that every American in the movie has a German accent, including the blacks - I thought that was lazy casting before I found out that Fassbinder made 3-4 films per year with pretty much a steady troupe. I think Maria is a hateful bitch, but somehow she is still easy to root for. It's a very good movie but Fassbinder had made so many better ones over that decade, and it's strange that this one became so famous.

The story is essentially a melodrama, told with a peculiar--to Americans, at least--unsentimentality. It's said to be inspired in part by "Baby Face"; the kinship of the two characters is quite apparent, though Schygulla's is much more coldly practical than Stanwyck's (and a lot less fun). Yet, on its own terms, it succeeds completely. Schygulla is fantastic, and Fassbinder's direction--though less unabashedly human than his earlier work--masterful.

A fascinating character study of a fascinating character. From the first scene (what a first scene!) to the end, watching Hanna Schygulla bring such an amazing character to life is a joy, even though she becomes quite unlikeable. Psychologically deep with a lot to think about and fairly unpredictable, which I always like. Very well shot. I enjoyed it more than the other Fassbinders I have seen.

08.18 Kurtköy

I guess we won't be seeing the divorce of Maria Braun

My biggest disagreement with Mubi votes, so I like to say this is the most overrated movie of all time. (Or maybe the one I am most wrong about, if you prefer). Tedious straight forward narrative that looks and feels like a late 70s/early 80s TV movie. Maybe if I had an inkling of sympathy for the material that Fassbender is transcending (?) or subverting (?), but that's a bridge too far for me. It brings up too many memories of neglectful babysitters who made us watch MASH reruns.

Love the lead performance. Love the script - the crackling dialogue, the simple but dynamic character arc, narrative structure, pace. Love the confident, spontaneous visualization and blocking of actors. But most of all, dat ending. The whole end scene. Perfection.

The first half of the film is exceptional. The later half blows the fine cinema to smithereens leaving a bitter (or sour---pick your poison) aftertaste. Meh.

It started off very well, making me think that this might be the best movie by RWF I've seen (so far). It begins immediately very energetic with a bang, and holds that energy going for a long time. But it started to lull in the last third after her meeting of the textile tycoon Oswald. Before ending with a bang again. RWF does still known how to frame his cast in great shots

There where some bizarre narrative choices in the beginning that completely crippled my immersion.

A subtle and ironic portrayal of Germany at the end of WWII. Maria Braun is one of the best character-methaphors in the history of cinema.

If you like intelectual exercises. Hint: She's postwar Germany. Ok. Next.

Schygulla's performance is really good and everything works in terms of the story.

Essentially a melodrama, albeit endowed with a raw and cold atmosphere. For the majority of the film, however, I remained skeptical as to Fassbinder's intention with his titular character. Unforgivably manipulative and harsh, Maria did anything but to evoke understanding and pity, but the fate to which Fassbinder consigns his titular character reflects his strong command of both storytelling and structure.

Good movie, with a stellar performance by Schygulla, and intelligent and perceptive, as usual, but I'm not sure why this is one of Fassbinder's most celebrated, since it's really not exceptional out of his numerous good films.

some rather silly melodrama, with all sorts of ridiculous character arcs and relationships. an allegory for germany? i can see that i suppose, but it's a bit much of a mess to be particularly clear about what it's saying. the development of maria's character is probably the best thing about this, so it's not a total loss, and wtf endings are always welcome after an underwhelming film.

The visuals were pretty awesome and kept the film alive and interesting. However, I found Maria Braun to be completely dull, forced, and unlikable. I'm not sure whether that's a fault with the way the character was written, Hanna Schygulla's performance, a combination of the two, or something else. The plot kept going in weird directions; some of them interesting, others boring, and the only thing that really held my attention were the visuals.

Certainly a good movie, but I guess it has to grow on me.

Uneven. Probably I don't get all of the immanent WWII references and psychological context, but that doesen't change the fact that it's a bit too melodramatic for my taste.

#563

I was drawn in pretty quickly and enjoyed nearly every minute of it. It takes some strange turns but Schygulla's performance is top notch and keeps everything perfectly on track. Fassbinder really knows how to set up a scene visually and the art direction and cinematography work together to give images that are not only pretty but convey a lot about the characters and situations.

A fairly simple movie plot-wise, the joy here is in the details Fassbinder fills his screen with.

I've seldom seen such callousness. Very good and fascinating movie, in general.

509

457

Great

Intensively fascinating.

# 438

Score based on very distant memory.

Absolutely awesome achievement from Fassbinder. This raises the bar for "art films" everywhere, because it seems like Fassbinder is always coming up with another fresh idea or another camera angle or something else that just seems exactly *right*. It would help to be German, but who cares. Absolutely not to be missed, no matter what. BRAVO! BRAVO!!!!

It has some interesting moments emotionally and formally, but otherwise it didn't really rique my interest. Funny and well-made, but I feel indifferent about it for some reason.