:
Maria Schrader,
Maria Schrader,
Juliane Köhler,
more...
:
Max Färberböck,
Max Färberböck
see all cast/crew...
: Zeitgeist Films
: Drama, Foreign, Romance, Costume Drama/Period Piece, Germany, Gay & Lesbian, Features
: 125 min.
: German
: English
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The opening film of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, Aimée & Jaguar drew attention not only for the lesbian love story that it narrates, but equally for the political position of the lovers -- Aimée, the wife of a Nazi officer, and Jaguar, a Jewish journalist. The story is based on the memoirs of Lilly Wust (the Aimée character), who is 85 and still living in Germany. In 1943, as Allied bombers leave Berlin in ruins, Lilly Wust Juliane Köhler earns a Cross of Motherhood for bringing up four children while husband Günther Detlev Buck is away fighting on the eastern front. She leads a bourgeois existence, with occasional love affairs on the side, and the bust of Hitler is a prominent decoration in their flat. When Lilly receives a love letter signed 'Jaguar,' she suspects a male admirer. But it is the self-confident Felice Schragenheim Maria Schrader who initiates this forbidden romance. A passionate love affair begins amidst the bombing raids and the threat of persecution. Madly in love, Lilly wants to divorce her husband, which causes a terrible storm, not just because her lover is a woman, but because she is Jewish and fighting for the Resistance. But nothing stops the love-blind Lilly. The two women make a pact of love and marriage and try to block out the reality of war and persecution; however, the Gestapo soon catches up with them. Aimée & Jaguar is based on Erica Fischer's best-selling book, published in 1994 and translated into eleven languages; the real life Lilly Wust was 80 years old when she told Erica Fischer her story. Maria Schrader and Juliane Köhler shared the Silver Bear for the Best Actress at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, for their roles in Aimée & Jaguar, while the film received the Teddy Award, given to films dealing with gay and lesbian issues. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
You might also enjoy:
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Fassbinder's fascinating melodrama set at the end of WWII, of a married young German woman who has an affair with a black American soldier
Entre Nous
Diane Kurys' moving film is also about the relationship between two women which develops out of the pain and rubble of WWII
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| Film is entertaining but lacks passion
by LJSosa
March 25, 2003 - 4:54 AM PST
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1 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| While I enjoyed this film I found myself wanting more passion, more depth of feeling. The cinematography is excellent however. Farberbock tries for a mix of real and surreal to capture the essence of the times and he succeeds. Watching this film on the eve of invasion of Iraq gave me an insight into what life is like for the civilian in an invaded country. Again both surreal and all to real. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.83)
172 Votes
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