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.
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.