The Marriage of Maria Braun

R

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2h 0m

Drama

List

92%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

90%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Near the end of World War II, Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann (Klaus Lowitsch), who is immediately sent off to battle. When the war concludes, Maria believes that Hermann is dead. She starts working at an Allied bar, where she meets American soldier Bill (George Byrd). They start a relationship that is interrupted when Hermann returns alive. During a scuffle between the men, Maria accidentally kills Bill. Hermann takes the blame and goes to jail, while Maria begins a hard new life.

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Critics Consensus

Hanna Schygulla is a knockout in The Marriage of Maria Braun, an intimate epic that reaffirms Rainer Werner Fassbinder's mastery of examining multifaceted people and a complicated nation.

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Michael H

I watched this one night and was drawn in to the story. It was compelling and engaging and I wanted to see how it played out. At the end when Herrmann and Maria are finally together again, you want to know, can they recapture what they had? Has too much happened and they have become too different? Then they die in a gas explosion. I completely wasted two hours of my life.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/12/24

Full Review

dave s

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun is Fassbinder's examination of post-WW2 Germany as it rebuilds itself from the rubble of its defeat, mirrored by the life of its central character Maria Braun (Hanna Schygulla). Devastated by the apparent death of her husband of two days, Hanna rises from the depths of her despair to elevate herself into the upper echelons of German society by manipulating those around her to meet her considerable needs. While the film certainly has its strong points, it needs to be seen primarily for the stunning performance of Schygulla, a true movie star who radiates personality and sexuality in every scene she's in. It's not a perfect movie by any stretch (there are some odd close-ups of things like prison keys and cigarette packs that may or may not be foreshadowing and the music score sometimes appears needlessly out of nowhere), but Schygulla makes it all worthwhile.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

s r

1001 movies to see before you die. This was a sad, yet resilient movie. Full of important themes relating to the German people post WW2 and how their "miracle" was born on the backs of its women who were left soulless after their sacrifices. It was well made and acted. The whole "Miracle in Bern", with Germany beating Hungary being played over the radio at the end was a genius touch of irony to the ending. Saw it on HBO.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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William L

So many decades later and audiences still find Fassbinder's thematic selections to be daring and subversive. Intentionally blurring the lines between 'acceptable' personal ambition and morally gray survival instinct (as the language skills that she learned to better communicate with bar patrons and potential American johns in seedy bars serve her well as an assistant and business liaison in a formal corporate setting, while simultaneously pursuing an affair with her boss), Schygulla's Maria is at once a portrait of resolute confidence and ambition as well as a mire of internal conflicts. Beyond that, though, there is also Fassbinder's take on what constitutes love - Maria is an unashamed sex worker who recognizes both the practicality of her profession and the personal pleasure associated with it, while society (in its period setting, at the time of release, and even today) would still largely condemn her without interest in context; this perspective is further complicated by her sincere love for her husband Hermann that remains and even flourishes beneath the events of the film, many of which would seem to cause overt conflicts between the pair according to the standards of the day. Then beyond love (and tied into practical need), there is also the consideration of happiness and contentment, which Fassbinder depicts as something else entirely. In the immediate postwar, it is superficial luxuries that characters are willing to supposedly debase themselves for, with surprising quick cuts to an open pack of cigarettes that have been weighed against the value of a precious brooch (there are more than one or two clever pieces of cinematography like this used to provide thematic heft). As Maria's profession, her social status, and the economic condition of West Germany evolves, the nature of these distracting contentments does as well. A metaphor for the changes in the German state as a whole in the years following WWII, when you approach the end of the runtime and reflect upon the character development over these two hours, you may be shocked. (4/5)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/09/21

Full Review

roman l

In you like Fassbinder, you will love it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

david l

The Marriage of Maria Braun is a surprisingly populist movie coming from Fassbinder. It is very simplistic in script and overly melodramatic, especially in its over-the-top ending. Still, it's undeniably very entertaining in its juicy, fun melodrama, strong in dialogue and especially fantastic in characterization and acting. Hanna Schygulla killed it in what is one truly bravura performance in a stellar role.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Director

Hanna Schygulla

Maria Braun

Klaus Lowitsch

Hermann Braun

Ivan Desny

Karl Oswald

Gisela Uhlen

Mother

Elisabeth Trissenaar

Betti Klenze

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

Schygulla gives a magnificent performance as a vulnerable young woman who becomes a self-confident, independent and competent survivor yet still comes to a bad end, largely because of the basic corruption of her world

May 16, 2019

Full Review

Gary Arnold

Washington Post

Shows no advance in Fassbinder's complacently vicious art.

May 5, 2017

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Fassbinder himself was cruel and distant to those around him, particularly those who loved him, and in Maria Braun, he created an indelible monster who is perversely fascinating.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Michael Bronski

Gay Community News (Boston)

It’s a political, thoughtful, somewhat cold, though oddly affecting, look at contemporary Germany.

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

With a low budget but artistic visions, Fassbinder's decidedly commercial entry into New German Cinema helped further his successes with foreign audiences.

Rated: 7/10

Aug 30, 2020

Full Review

Michael Lasky

Bay Area Reporter

Fassbinder hasn't really caught on as a mainstream director with Americans yet -- this picture should change that.

May 23, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Near the end of World War II, Maria (Hanna Schygulla) marries Hermann (Klaus Lowitsch), who is immediately sent off to battle. When the war concludes, Maria believes that Hermann is dead. She starts working at an Allied bar, where she meets American soldier Bill (George Byrd). They start a relationship that is interrupted when Hermann returns alive. During a scuffle between the men, Maria accidentally kills Bill. Hermann takes the blame and goes to jail, while Maria begins a hard new life.

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Screenwriter: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Pea Fröhlich, Pea Fröhlich, Peter Märthesheimer, Peter Märthesheimer
Distributor: New Yorker Films, Criterion Collection
Production Co: Trio Film, Fengler Films, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Albatros Produktion, Filmverlag der Autoren, Tango Film
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 20, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2017
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Mono

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