Category: Non-EnglishTouted as one of the most commercially films of Fassbinder, The Marriage of Maria Braun is a very engaging film that although might not be represent of the New German Cinema movement but is a methodical and superb effort from Fassbinder.
The film plays out the life of Maria Braun, who like most women in the days post the II Great War were at the core of powering Germany. Their efforts in reviving the German economy is perhaps overshadowed by the returning men from the front lines. Maria Braun calls herself, "The Mata Hari of the Economic Miracle" at some point and rightfully you can see how she works for it at times even prostituting herself. Back to the plot! Maria Braun spends a while waiting for her husband to return she finds love in a African American GI known as Bill. The husband returns and while he takes the blame of the GI's death, Maria decides to work her way to the top by any means possible, mostly because she wants a life with her husband at any cost.
The movie is shot incredibly, Fassbinder doesn't blink as much as other directors do and when he does you can rest assured the framing and the close ups (non-face) add a whole new layer to the film. His film is an allegory for the state of Germany at that time and of course about the political scenario present in those days.
Watch out for the empowering scenes where he doesn't want to show his protagnoist weeping or when he doesn't want to break the scene and reality with an unnatural cut. Truffaut spoke about continuing an emotion in a particular scene and in Fassbinder's work you can see how he continues, how he doesn't want you to break away. He lifts poignant political questions and of course the start of the film has a picture of Adolf Hitler.
Recommendation level: 5/5 - You have to see this, somehow or another, find a way! Thanks to a friend who generously lent me his personal copies.
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