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Lili Marleen

Play trailer Poster for Lili Marleen R 1981 2h 0m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A German singer (Hanna Schygulla) loves a Swiss composer (Giancarlo Giannini) in hiding and becomes famous for a song in World War II.

Critics Reviews

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Bruce McCabe Boston Globe 04/26/2018
Fassbinder's energy and imagination, in tandem creating strong, visceral images, justify and vindicate his excesses. He is, simply, one of very few directors in the world today who seems to be pouring everything he has into his medium. Go to Full Review
Gary Arnold Washington Post 08/04/2015
Fassbinder repeatedly depicts the song comforting lonely soldiers and then accompanying scenes of carnage. The devastating effect boomerangs. Go to Full Review
Vincent Canby New York Times 09/18/2006
2/5
What is new for a Fassbinder work is that the film is far more entertaining to watch than it is interesting to speculate about. That means it's a disappointment. Go to Full Review
Michael Bronski Gay Community News (Boston) 08/30/2022
Lili Marleen is a good movie — there is enough action, romance, intrigue, and singing to keep the most restless movie goer happy. Go to Full Review
Jesús Fernández Santos El Pais (Spain) 08/20/2019
The famous German director has crafted a less personal film than usual, but it's rigorous and attentive. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Andrew Parker The Gate 08/28/2018
One of Fassbinder's most dazzling efforts. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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08/05/2021 É baseado na canção Lili Marleen, cantada por Lale Andersen, e no romance dela com Rolf Liebermann, no filme Willie e Robert. O filme tentou ser bem imparcial com relação a Lale e o nazismo, apesar dela ter ajudado discretamente, e por Robert, os Aliados, entretanto ao final, ela acaba por se render ao nazismo, para continuar cantando, sair da Lista Negra, precisou alterar sua famosa canção com ares militares, não se casou com Rolf, mas manteve uma amizade eterna, poderia ter rendido melhor... See more 11/24/2014 ????? ???? ??? ????? See more 07/25/2014 An impressive Fassbinder work on the artists' relationships with political systems they evolve in; in this case the nazi regime. See more 01/07/2014 Schygulla's performance really got on my nerves; she plays Willie like she's some kind of brainless idiot, and her voice put my teeth on edge. Fassbinder's weird, confusing editing rhythm combined with the schlocky dubbing made this an off-putting experience for me. Sometimes it felt like reading a poem written by someone who doesn't speak English very well. There's also too much of a "things we know now" aspect to the way characters see the Evil Nazis Who Must Be Stopped. This movie annoyed me. See more 08/16/2013 Not one of his better works (the cinematography is fine though) but still well worth watching. His usual motives are however underdeveloped, I would even almost dare to call this a German Hollywoodfilm and that is not flattering. Fassbinder focusses more on entertaining here, it lacks some depth. It is also quite anoying to hear the same song so often during the film. Hanna Shygula is as usual fabulous in her role (although she does sing a bit false but at least she did all the singing herself). Great to see Hark Bohm in this one again as well. See more 04/12/2013 Tragic, somehow a bit shallow story of a one hit wonder. Hanna Schygulla is great, though. See more Read all reviews
Lili Marleen

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis A German singer (Hanna Schygulla) loves a Swiss composer (Giancarlo Giannini) in hiding and becomes famous for a song in World War II.
Director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Producer
Luggi Waldleitner, Enzo Peri
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
German
Runtime
2h 0m