The Marriage of Maria Braun (15)

First screened at the 1979 Berlin Film Festival, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Marriage of Maria Braun focusses on the life of a woman navigating post-war West Germany. Hanna Schygulla, one of the director’s most trusted collaborators, plays the title role with consummate skill.

When it was released in West Germany, The Marriage of Maria Braun became one of Fassbinder’s most successful films at the box-office. In its ability to appeal to audiences whilst tackling serious themes, it is another of Fassbinder’s films that reveal the influence of Douglas Sirk. The film’s precise use of colour and camerawork – by another long-time Fassbinder collaborator Michael Ballhaus – also bear the hallmarks of Sirk’s impact on Fassbinder.

Today, The Marriage of Maria Braun is seen as one of the high points of the New German Cinema. 

This film will screen with trailers, but no adverts.