The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)

In 1978 German wunderkind Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder was about to make one of the most ambitious television production German TV had ever seen, the epic "Berlin Alexanderplatz." But since he had 5 months before filming began Fassbinder, helped by massive amounts of adrenaline, alcohol and cocaine, decided to shoot a "low- budget quickie" in the interim, much to the chagrin of his backers. That film became "The Marriage of Maria Braun" and with it, Fassbinder had his most accessible piece and a film that helped him gain international acclaim and success. After he made this film, he wrote his own ticket. (Of course, he put off "Alexanderplatz" until 1980 and then died some four years later in 1982).

"The Marriage of Maria Braun" concentrates on a subject that German filmmakers often discuss in their work, the rebuilding of the country after WWII. Fassbinder, who is credited with the story that scripters Peter Martesheimer and Pea Frolich flesh out here, brings us the metaphoric story of a young German woman totally devastated by the war. Her home, her neighborhood, her innocence and her husband are all lost to it. After moping about for a while, she sets out to be a "dime-a-dance" girl only to fall in love with a black soldier staying in American-occupied Germany. Later in the film she becomes colleague and mistress to a wealthy textile mogul named Oswald and begins here meteoric rise to the top. She is assertive, forthright and demanding and gets exactly what she wants. In the film, she takes on the attributes we normally connect with a man and yet she is never unfeminine or unsexy. She may be conniving and plotting but she also has an agenda; She has a purpose. She is trying to rebuild a life for herself and her family. The story acts as a allegory for Germany after the war, one would assume, with Braun the innocent who becomes a cold-hearted cynic in the post-war industrial economic rebuilding. Her free-spirited and slightly amoral character only works for total financial success. She rebuilds in a cold and calculating method. In the film's ending, Braun is the victim of her own inability to have emotion as well as (more obviously) forgetfulness and carelessness. Is Fassbinder saying that Germany forgot it's past and became emotionless and cold in it's rebuilding? One more familiar with Germany's political landscape after WWII would probably have a more insightful idea about the message here than I.

Fassbinder's film takes several twists and turns along the way and many of them are quite surprising. While it might be interesting to discuss these here, I would rather not spoil the surprises in store for the viewer for those who have not seen it.

Fassbinder opens the film with a wonderfully interesting segment that sets up his story. It's no accident that an image of Hitler is blown away at the beginning of the film exposing a hole in the wall which allows us to view the action. Fassbinder shoots this film in a highly visual manner. Some of the scenes set in prisons and dilapidated neighborhoods are quite well done. Fassbinder always finds interesting ways to shoot the film and create intricate angles. He ends the film with an unusual scene as well that gives way to a visual depiction of the Chancellors of Germany since WWII up until the present (1979). Again, with this he reminds us what the film is all about. And don't forget this too: The film begins and ends with an explosion.

Meanwhile, Fassbinder also uses sound in an interesting manner here too. The film often has a radio blaring in the foreground while the characters speak in almost muted tones in the background. (Thank God for subtitles). The news reports were very important in the time-frame here and Fassbinder reminds us of that. He also ends the film with an important radio program that has significance to his theme. And even more telling here is his use of sound effects. Note the sounds of machinery that permeate the film's soundtrack, almost ever-present in the background. Sometimes this sounds like construction and sometimes this sounds like industrial sewing machines (Braun works in textiles, remember). But the significance of the sounds are that they constantly remind us of the rebuilding that the country and the character are doing here.

Hanna Schygulla plays the title character here and all the others in the cast literally pale by comparison. Schygulla is as adept at playing an innocent as she is the vixen. Her transformation in the film is nothing short of brilliant. Fassbinder had originally wanted Romy Schneider for the role (and this is what got some of the producers interested) but the director and the actress didn't hit it off and after he dismissed her rudely in the press, Schygulla was called in. She hadn't worked with Fassbinder for 5 years although she was in his best known film up to this time, "The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant." It's a good thing for the film that Fassbinder got this leading lady. She carries us through the film with her courage and hopefulness, during the opening moments, and with her strength of conviction during the latter parts of the film. We enjoy commiserating with her when she loses her husband and understand when she turns herself over to an amoral lifestyle. In the later half of the film, we enjoy watching her chew up and spit out every other person in the film. Throughout the film Schygulla is Maria Braun.

The other actors in the film also do marvelous jobs with none of them really ever doing much more than playing off Schygulla. Fassbinder himself takes a cameo in the role of a black marketeer and follows his cast's lead. (He often liked to play a role in his films). Fassbinder also shows his penchant for black males by casting two in the film, both as American soldiers. One should consider this more of a reflection of Fassbinder's personality than a statement about Americans, I believe.

If there are problems with the film, they are minor and one feels too picky mentioning them. Still... Fassbinder uses an odd technique for his opening and closing credits here and they are virtually impossible to read - but they are unique and interesting none the less. Fassbinder also has a habit of jacking up Peer Raben's score way too loud in the film at times - and yet this is a device he uses to point out the absurd dramatic quality of the scene. It is usually a moment fraught with supposed tense dramatic qualities. Fassbinder almost makes a parody of the film at these moments and yet one knows that this is exactly his intent. Finally, his editing between plot points can, at times, make you think the projectionists has sequenced the reels together incorrectly. Fear not - Fassbinder is on his own timetable here. He just doesn't take the time to spoon-feed us. He trusts us to keep up.

"The Marriage of Maria Braun" has everything. A great star, great symbolism, stunning camera work, and an interesting plot, plus it's chock full of kinky twists and sublime humor. Fassbinder may not have shown a inclination towards humor in most of his pieces (could any one of them be called a comedy?) but he does so here. Schygulla's may be a more cynical humor, but it works. And the snicker usually comes here when someone says something honest and forthright. The subtle comic qualities of the script really shine in Fassbinder's hands.

This is my fifth or sixth Fassbinder film and up until now I have truly enjoyed only one, "Ali: Fear East the Soul." His others, like the abysmal "Querelle" and the static "Petra Von Kant" never seemed to explain why this guy was so highly regarded. But with "Maria Braun" it all becomes clear. This is Fassbinder's most stunning and most accessible film.

Note:

In German with subtitles and sparse English.

Photographed by Michael Ballhaus. Edited by Juliane Lorenz, Fassbinder's young concubine, and Franz Walsh (Fassbinder's oft used pseudonym).

Also with Klaus Lowitsch (Herrmann Braun), Ivan Desny (Oswald), Gottfried John, Gisela Uhlen, Gunter Lamprecht, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Isolde Barth, and Peter Berling.

First shown at the Berlin Film Festival in February of 1979 where Schygulla won an award for Best Actress. Fassbinder was quite upset that the film itself did not win the coveted Golden Bear for Best Film.

At this time, Fassbinder's cocaine use was getting quite bad. He was also constantly struggling with producers. This is chronicled in Robert Katz's biography of the director called "Love is Colder than Death" much more than the actual filming of the piece is.

Dedication: To Peter Zadek.

The first of Fassbinder's post-war trilogy. Followed by "Lola" and "Veronika Voss."

Review written in 1996

Report Card

Script: A-

Acting: A+

Cinematography\Lighting: B+

Special Effects\Make Up: A+

Music: B+

Final Grade: A-