The Marriage of Maria Braun 7.5

I saw Rainer Werner Fassbinder's classic film 'The Marriage of Maria Braun' last night. A bit stagey, but that's Fassbinder for you, you might as well complain that a wheel is round (nice print though, and the cinemaphotography was brilliant). Anyway it's good to see the actress Hanna Schygulla again, it's an over used term perhaps but she is luminous in this film, the camera simply loves her (another over used term!) but her performance is remarkable. Recommended



I also saw Wim Wender's 'Kings of the Road' the other week (on region 4 DVD, as part of the Directors Suite/ Road Movie boxset). Only Wim would get away with a shot of an actor actually having a shit and still keep the audience on board (strong stomachs are needed). It's interesting to see how the basic concept of the road movie taken to it's logical conclusion as a metaphor for how people, even when physically close to each other (by distance) can also be a million miles away emotionally, and the road is a metaphor for that huge gap. Great soundtrack as well.

7.5/10 recommended but for adults only (and patient ones at that as it's a L-O-N-G film). The film also contains one scene of masturbation, so it ain't fer yer grannie.