The Marriage of Maria Braun

1979 ‘Die Ehe der Maria Braun’ Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

A German woman named Maria struggles to live through World War II.

Near the end of World War II, Maria marries Hermann, 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. 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.

Hanna Schygulla Klaus Löwitsch Ivan Desny George Eagles Gisela Uhlen Elisabeth Trissenaar Gottfried John Hark Bohm Günter Lamprecht Lilo Pempeit Michael Ballhaus Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Alternative Title

El matrimonio de María Braun

drama

120 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Sally Jane Black 2

Maria Braun is a product of survivalism. Reduced by war and loss to a struggle just to eat and breathe, she becomes a hardened soul. It's easy to suggest that she is Germany through Fassbinder's eyes (and perhaps this is so), but I think of her more as symbolic of any people under capitalism. She becomes ruthless and materialistic. The love of her life is a memory to her, regardless of his vital state, and her motivations, whatever they were before the marriage and war, become about advancing financially more than anything else. To her, love is to be pushed aside, to be manipulated, to be controlled. Even in her most compassionate moments, she is driven to violence.
That she…
Review by ykantgoranrite ★★★★★

My third viewing. I liked it plenty after both the first and the second. But it is only this third time around that it managed to properly seep under my skin and move me more intensely than any other Fassbinder film - even the more baldly tragic (and nearly as sublime) Fox and His Friends.
And it's funny that, while this was unquestionably Fassbinder's greatest popular success, it never seems to have been considered his defining masterpiece, which I would argue it is. (That's right, I'm dropping the m-word!)
There is something so strikingly and cleanly devastating about the way Maria conceives this great love, and compartmentalises it away - or at least leaves a space for it deep inside…
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½

86
Astonishing in how it captures a woman utilizing Post-War confusion for her personal gain, wrestling with moral/financial repercussions and an overwhelming rise in agency. But of course, it doesn't last. As Germany picks itself up, its interior rots from the core outward.
Review by Carlos Valladares 2

The honky-tonk, stuck-in-a-Mae-West-flick stiltedness of this Fassbinder allegory is sure to turn more than a few people off. But stick with it; the Fass might teach us something yet.
For the truths Rainer Werner Fassbinder wants to present in Marriage of Maria Braun, the stiltedness pays off. Maria—a deliciously callous, yet fiercely loyal, yet oddly self-sustaining, yet disaffected and slavish boor—is a cruel contradiction. She is the embodiment of a postwar Germany still trying to make sense of its place in a world and its role in causing, then turning a blind eye to, the Holocaust. Integration, as Fassbinder conceives it, equals amnesia. Going back to the way things were before the war—as William Wyler and Yasujiro Ozu could conceivably…
Review by Rafael Jovine ★★★½

Well that was... Explosive.
This tale of a striving woman that may or not be a total bitch, it's a heck of a fun journey with a few drags in between (sometimes for real).
Hanna Schygullab as the lead character, does a hell of a job capturing both the complexity of this character to perfection.
The story itself has its ups and down. It does a good job balancing the drama with the humor.
Again, the film tends to drag a lot and the main character is borderline unlikable on more than one occasion, but if you can pass this you might be on for a good time.
Review by Kamilleroboter ★★★★★ 2

This is a breathtaking showcase of a master working at the height of his art...my wig

Recent reviews

Review by cetkhup

This thing is held sacred that does not exist and is favored over things that do exist. Found myself talkign to myself at each twist and turn of the plot
Review by Rafael Jovine ★★★½

Well that was... Explosive.
This tale of a striving woman that may or not be a total bitch, it's a heck of a fun journey with a few drags in between (sometimes for real).
Hanna Schygullab as the lead character, does a hell of a job capturing both the complexity of this character to perfection.
The story itself has its ups and down. It does a good job balancing the drama with the humor.
Again, the film tends to drag a lot and the main character is borderline unlikable on more than one occasion, but if you can pass this you might be on for a good time.
Review by Sbsulliv ★★★½

Saw this eight weeks ago. Thought I finally found a Fassbinder film I liked.
Memory has somewhat faded. Do remember the ending is a little flat and weird. This is a portrait of a survivor, who clings to her marriage even though her husband has been either away at war or in prison for a crime she committed. Maria's almost delusional commitment to her marriage is the one constant in this icy woman's life.
Review by peasantalex ★★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Kill Bill vol.0 goes brazzy 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Review by William Harman ★★★★★

War isn’t just cruel. It leaves all those around it cold, damaged, and blunted.
Review by TARDELLINO ★★★★

单看战时那段显得过于俗艳，但通篇来看又觉得蛮好的。结尾也刻意得很妙
Review by Jackson Bennink ½

I fell asleep
Review by mtpitts ★★★★½

I prefer making miracles than waiting for them.
Review by Brandon Berezo ★★★★

Screened for film history II, I’m really enjoying our dive into New German Cinema.