A World War II widow (Hanna Schygulla) seeks to adjust to life in postwar Germany.

Karena Niehoff wrote in the daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung that The Marriage of Maria Braun "is a charming and even amusing film, at the same extraordinarily artful, artificial and full of twists and turns". I think this sums it up. Although obviously dark (this is Germany right after World War II),there is plenty of humor that arises from unusual situations, particularly as the Americans and English interact with the local Germans.

I feel like this is the sort of film that Professor Wes Gehring might have considered in the dark comedy tradition of Charlie Chaplin's "Shoulder Arms". Somehow it takes a realistic view of war life (the opening is full of explosions) and yet never loses its silver lining and positive temperament.

Maria marries soldier Hermann Braun as bombs fall all around them. After the war, she is informed that he has been killed. She carries a cardboard placate searching for him. She begins an affair with a black American soldier named Bill. She gets pregnant and informs Bill. They seem happy together and then Hermann returns home.

With all the war movies, the post war movie is a rarer animal. This has an interesting take on the post war. I can say that I love Maria or her marriage. I can understand the desperation for money but she has a hunger for it. This is a complicated character and it's a difficult relationship to grab a hold on. They definitely want each other but their relationship is much more mercurial than any literary romance. I keep going back to Bill. When she realizes that Hermann is at door, she's happy to see him and she seems happy to have the two men meet. It's almost as if she wants to bring Bill into their marriage. It's hard to read her. He's a lot easier in his jealousy and his devotion. The movie leaves me with a lot of questions about Maria. In a way, she is beyond me.

"Die Ehe der Maria Braun" or "The Marriage of Maria Braun" is a German film that runs for almost 2 hours and was written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder only 3 years before his untimely death. The film won Fassbinder and lead actress Schygulla many awards and it was also nominated for a Golden Globe. Unfortunately I have to say that I did not think this was a particularly good watch. For the most part, the film is not really interesting, but then again, I am not the greatest Fassbinder fan in general. There was one situation in a train which was particularly bad when a woman and a man, strangers at this point, talk to each other. It never felt authentic in a way they were rushing the words and dialogs. Apart from that, it is obvious that Fassbinder tries very controversial with all kinds of cheating sleaze and graphic nudity, which is fine if he was telling a convincing story that went with it all. But he does not. I really like Fassbinder's "Angst essen Seele auf", but this one here did not do too much for me. He does not seem to be the most talented when it comes to making a statement in terms of post-war history or political contents in general. I do not recommend the watch. Thumbs down. Check out the other film from him that I just mentioned instead.