The Marriage of Maria Braun (Rainer Weiner Fassbinder,1979): Gemany

Reviewed by Saloua Kehal. Viewed at AFI Fest 2013.

The marriage of Maria Braun is an interesting and great movie. The movie was made by Rainer Werner Fassbinder in 1979, a few years before his death. Fassbinder made more than 30 movies between 1969 and his death at the age of thirty-seven in 1982. He producted two to three film a year,and often worked with cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. In his movies, Fassbinder often presented characters drove by sex, ego, and money to cruelty,and self destruction.

The movie starts with Maria getting married to the soldier Herman Braun in the middle of bombs falling. Then, we see Maria and her mother, it is after World War II, they share a small apartment damaged by the war. Maria thinks her husband his dead, but she still has a little bit of hope since we can see her haunting rail stations with his photograph. We can observe a Germany destroyed by the war, and people starving and desperate. When an American soldier throw a cigarette butt away, we see more than ten people scramble for it. maria applies for job in a bar reserved to American soldiers. In the bar she meets a black soldier. She dances with him. He teaches her english. Their relathionship takes another twist when her friend’s husband comes back from war and tells her that her husband his dead. Then, Maria gets closer to Bill, the American soldier. We see them in a scene of physical affection. One day, her husband comes back, and he finds her and Bill in bed. She fixes the problem by breaking a bottle on Bill’s head, and Bill dies. Her husband tells the court he did it and is sentenced to prison. Maria tells her husband that during his time in prison she will build their life, so they can live together when he gets out.

The character of Maria is very interesting and fascinating. Through the film we observe her evolution from a desperate woman waiting for her husband to a rich, strong, and cruel woman. The beauty and personality of Maria Braun is in some way extraordinary. In a time where women would mostly respect the conventions Maria stands out. The role is played by Hanna Schygulla, who met Fassbinder in school and played in twenty of his movies.

The cinematographer Ballhaus worked in many movies with Fassbinder. The marriage of Maria Braun was their last film together. In the film, the camera is moving, and the characters and locations are arranged so that the fluid visual flow from long shots through close -ups without cutting. The camera moves behind walls, emerge through doors and windows, and looking around offices give the impression that the characters are caught into the decor.

I enjoyed watching The Marriage of  Maria Braun. Tha main character is extraordinary in the sens that she can create controversy. Also, the end of the movie is to me unexpected. The movie is very interesting. It shows a Germany in war and post war. I would recommand it.