Reviews
CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

September 13, 2024
7.0
With the defeat of the Nazis looming large, "Maria" (Hanna Schygulla) marries her sweet-heart "Hermann" (Klaus Löwitch) before he is promptly sent off to the front and she loses all trace of him. With her nation now in ruins, she has no way of surviving and so has to adapt by using her wits, guile and even her body to keep alive. Fortunately, she alights on an American soldier who enables her to keep her head above water but she spurns anything more permanent as, even when told of his death, she refuses to abandon hope that "Hermann" will return. The thrust of this story continues for many a year as she begins to hone her skills of successfully combining satisfaction for others as well as herself with an increasing improvement in her circumstances. Sooner or later, though, one of these men will prove less gullible and/or lovestruck and her secret might just bring her new life tumbling down before she manages to reunite with an husband whom she's not even sure is still alive! This is a great looking drama that takes us on quite an emotionally turbulent trip into the debris of a city and a culture that saw "Maria" - like so many other hausfrau, left without any means of support as the Allies took control and struggled to deal with their own significant logistic problems. Schygulla delivers powerfully as a woman who must think on her feet to put bread on the table and a roof (or at least part of one) over her head. She's not by nature ruthless but when needs must she realises that she can rely on nobody but herself. Fassbender cleverly uses the screenplay and the bombed-out city-scape to create characters that do illicit a degree of counterintuitive sympathy. In may ways, she is a victim but will she accept that status? Her society gradually becomes akin to the phoenix and the ashes, and her determination not to be left behind is emotively captured over the two hours we spend with her and some equally ill-equipped destitute German people gradually becoming just ein bischen optimistic. It doesn't address the post-war politics of directly, but there are a few more oblique comments to add a further elements of realism to this quite poignantly written drama that marries disaster, a little humour and a great deal of fortitude.

Recommendation Movies

7.3
Drama
View
7.3
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant1972
7.3
Comedy
View
7.3
Hobson's Choice
Hobson's Choice1954
6.7
Drama
View
6.7
The Merchant of Four Seasons
The Merchant of Four Seasons1972
6.7
Drama
View
6.7
Rimini
Rimini2022
6.4
Drama
View
6.4
Between Yesterday and Tomorrow
Between Yesterday and Tomorrow1947
5.4
Adventure
View
5.4
The Boy and the Pirates
The Boy and the Pirates1960
6.6
Drama
View
6.6
Pereira Declares
Pereira Declares1995
5.6
Drama
View
5.6
Grand Central
Grand Central2013
7.5
Drama
View
7.5
Pamfir
Pamfir2022
7.4
Animation
View
7.4
Hedgehog in the Fog
Hedgehog in the Fog1975
6.9
Drama
View
6.9
Shadows
Shadows1960
6.7
Comedy
View
6.7
Shadows and Fog
Shadows and Fog1991
7.4
Drama
View
7.4
Le Doulos
Le Doulos1962
7.4
Documentary
View
7.4
F for Fake
F for Fake1973
6.5
Crime
View
6.5
Something Wild
Something Wild1986
7
Drama
View
7
Pauline at the Beach
Pauline at the Beach1983
7.3
Crime
View
7.3
Europa
Europa1991
6.5
Fantasy
View
6.5
Tideland
Tideland2005
7.2
Drama
View
7.2
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock1975
6.7
Drama
View
6.7
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex1967
© 2024 MoovieTime. All rights reserved.Made with Nuxt