My Sister Maria

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My Sister Maria

2002

1h 30m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

58%

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12 Reviews

60%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

A biography of Austrian actress Maria Schell.

Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

It's not easy to classify Maximilian Schell's occasionally clumsy but always touching tribute to his actress sister, and it's equally difficult not to be moved by it.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 20, 2004

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G. Allen Johnson

San Francisco Chronicle

It is meant to be a loving and sad portrait of a fading life, but it feels intrusive, excessively brooding and narcissistic.

Rated: 1/4

Aug 6, 2004

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Bbrave, heartless, and exceedingly strange.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 9, 2004

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Phil Hall

Film Threat

Fascinating documentary on the celebrated Austrian actress.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 10, 2007

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William Arnold

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's unpleasantly bitter (Maximilian had to sell his art collection to keep her out of the poorhouse and he's not happy about it), rather ghoulish, supremely depressing and, considering her condition, a criminal invasion of the woman's privacy.

Rated: C

Aug 19, 2004

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Jean Lowerison

San Diego Metropolitan

It's difficult to witness the disintegration of a personality; unfortunately, watching My Sister Maria inspires the question, 'Why was this film made?'

Jul 20, 2004

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walter m

With this film, actor Maximilian Schell looks back at the acting career of his sister Maria and incidentally also provides a rare, insightful look at the post-war West German film industry which also gave us Hardy Kruger, Oskar Werner and Curt Jurgens. In the present day, Maria is suffering from dementia, leading to grave financial problems and for her to feel as one person puts it as if she is in another reality altogether. That last part is expressed perfectly by of all things clips from Deep Impact. All of which Maximilian Schell uses in a non-traditional manner that owes more to narrative tradition than documentaries, creating a hybrid film that expresses his elegiac sentiments well.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Sad view of a once strong and renowned woman who descends into the maelstrom of mental illness and infirmity.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Maximilian Schell

Director

Maria Schell

Actor

Maximilian Schell

Actor

Gerhard Hannak

Actor

Natalya Andreychenko

Actor

Oliver Schell

Actor

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Synopsis

A biography of Austrian actress Maria Schell.

Director: Maximilian Schell
Producer: Margit Chuchra
Screenwriter: Maximilian Schell, Gero von Boehm
Production Co: Arte, Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG, Bayerischer Rundfunk
Genre: Drama
Original Language: German
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2020
Runtime: 1h 30m

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