Aimée & Jaguar
Encyclopedia
Aimée & Jaguar is a 1999 German drama film
set in Berlin
during World War II
. It was written and directed by Max Färberböck
, based upon Erica Fischer's book, chronicling the actual lives of Lilly Wust and Felice Schragenheim
during that time period. The book was based on the work of the American journalist, author, and noted Holocaust researcher, Charles Brady. He tracked down Lilly Wust as a Holocaust victim and the two soon became friends. It was over a year and a half, however, before Wust was able to confide in Brady and tell him her whole story. They remained close friends for 20 years until her death in 2006.
The book also contains photos of the many letters shared between the two, and official correspondences post World War II with regards to Felice's whereabouts. It stars Maria Schrader
, Juliane Köhler
, Johanna Wokalek
, Elisabeth Degen, Heike Makatsch
, Detlev Buck
.
(Maria Schrader
), a Jewish woman who assumed a false name and who belongs to an underground organization
, and Lilly Wust (Juliane Köhler
), a married mother of four children, unsatisfied with her husband (a German soldier).
Felice takes the initiative in the love affair. Lilly, fascinated with the strength of Felice and her friends, realizes that she can give her love more fully to a cosmopolitan woman than a man. The film features both erotic encounters and sentimental love poems (quoted from the book), and during one love scene a poetic line emerges in which Lilly is an Aimée to Felice as Jaguar. Then one day Lilly’s husband gets leave from the front and arrives home, only to find Felice and Lilly in bed. Although he then hoped merely to punish her for her indiscretion so that his marriage would return to normal, Lilly surprises him by asking for a divorce. He later dies at the front. Felice and her friends stop seeing Lilly for the sake of their own survival. On one occasion, Lilly erupts in anger over Felice’s unexplained absence for days, so Felice shares her secret that she is Jewish. After the 20 July Plot, Lilly’s friends fear for their lives and arrange to flee Germany before they are rounded up. Felice prefers to take her chances in order to enjoy the love of her life, though unfortunately not for long, as Felice is captured by the Gestapo
. She is sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp
from where the two still manage to correspond, but all contact is lost by the end of 1945.
The story has two bookends. When the film begins in 1997, an 83-year-old Lilly (then played by Inge Keller) is taking up residence in a dilapidated flat that once served as an underground hideout. Lilly’s German maid Ilse (played by Johanna Wokalek in the 1940s, by Kyra Mladeck in 1997), who was rounded up during 1945, is already a tenant. Lilly and Ilse reminisce as the film ends. Lilly, though saddened by the tragedy that she caused her friends and lovers, is unable to imagine how her life could have been any different, given her obsessive live-for-today-for-tomorrow-we-die mood, common among besieged Berliners. Lilly Wust lived in Berlin until her death on 31 March 2006. The tagline of the film is "Love Transcends Death".
for Best Foreign Film.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
set in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was written and directed by Max Färberböck
Max Färberböck
Max Färberböck is a German film director and writer. He was born in Degerndorf, Münsing, Bavaria. He began his career at theaters in Buenos Aires and in Italy. He later studied at the University of Television and Film in Munich and worked for Constantin Film and as an assistant for Peter Zadek at...
, based upon Erica Fischer's book, chronicling the actual lives of Lilly Wust and Felice Schragenheim
Felice Schragenheim
Felice Rahel Schragenheim was a Jewish resistance fighter during World War II. She is known for her tragic love story with Lilly Wust and death during a march from Gross-Rosen concentration camp to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany...
during that time period. The book was based on the work of the American journalist, author, and noted Holocaust researcher, Charles Brady. He tracked down Lilly Wust as a Holocaust victim and the two soon became friends. It was over a year and a half, however, before Wust was able to confide in Brady and tell him her whole story. They remained close friends for 20 years until her death in 2006.
The book also contains photos of the many letters shared between the two, and official correspondences post World War II with regards to Felice's whereabouts. It stars Maria Schrader
Maria Schrader
Maria Schrader is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award winning 2007 film Love Life that was based on a novel by Zeruya Shalev.-Work:...
, Juliane Köhler
Juliane Köhler
Juliane Köhler is a German theatre, television, and film actress.Köhler was born in Göttingen to a puppeteer. From 1985-88 she studied under Uta Hagen in New York City and attended the HB acting studio. She also received ballet instruction from Daniela Glück in Munich, Bavaria...
, Johanna Wokalek
Johanna Wokalek
Johanna Wokalek is a German stage and film actress. A student of Klaus Maria Brandauer, she received critical recognition and three newcomer awards for her performance in the play Rose Bernd. Wokalek is best known for her award-winning appearances in the German films Hierankl, Barfuss, and The...
, Elisabeth Degen, Heike Makatsch
Heike Makatsch
- Early life :Makatsch was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, the daughter of former German national ice hockey team goaltender Rainer Makatsch. She spent several months in New Mexico in 1988 in an effort to improve her English, and later studied politics and sociology at the University of Düsseldorf for...
, Detlev Buck
Detlev Buck
Detlev Buck is a German film director and actor.-Life and work:From his first short film at the age of 21 in 1982, Erst die Arbeit und dann?, he has remained one of the most important filmmakers working in Germany...
.
Plot
The film explores the lives of the characters Felice SchragenheimFelice Schragenheim
Felice Rahel Schragenheim was a Jewish resistance fighter during World War II. She is known for her tragic love story with Lilly Wust and death during a march from Gross-Rosen concentration camp to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany...
(Maria Schrader
Maria Schrader
Maria Schrader is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award winning 2007 film Love Life that was based on a novel by Zeruya Shalev.-Work:...
), a Jewish woman who assumed a false name and who belongs to an underground organization
Resistance during World War II
Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...
, and Lilly Wust (Juliane Köhler
Juliane Köhler
Juliane Köhler is a German theatre, television, and film actress.Köhler was born in Göttingen to a puppeteer. From 1985-88 she studied under Uta Hagen in New York City and attended the HB acting studio. She also received ballet instruction from Daniela Glück in Munich, Bavaria...
), a married mother of four children, unsatisfied with her husband (a German soldier).
Felice takes the initiative in the love affair. Lilly, fascinated with the strength of Felice and her friends, realizes that she can give her love more fully to a cosmopolitan woman than a man. The film features both erotic encounters and sentimental love poems (quoted from the book), and during one love scene a poetic line emerges in which Lilly is an Aimée to Felice as Jaguar. Then one day Lilly’s husband gets leave from the front and arrives home, only to find Felice and Lilly in bed. Although he then hoped merely to punish her for her indiscretion so that his marriage would return to normal, Lilly surprises him by asking for a divorce. He later dies at the front. Felice and her friends stop seeing Lilly for the sake of their own survival. On one occasion, Lilly erupts in anger over Felice’s unexplained absence for days, so Felice shares her secret that she is Jewish. After the 20 July Plot, Lilly’s friends fear for their lives and arrange to flee Germany before they are rounded up. Felice prefers to take her chances in order to enjoy the love of her life, though unfortunately not for long, as Felice is captured by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. She is sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
from where the two still manage to correspond, but all contact is lost by the end of 1945.
The story has two bookends. When the film begins in 1997, an 83-year-old Lilly (then played by Inge Keller) is taking up residence in a dilapidated flat that once served as an underground hideout. Lilly’s German maid Ilse (played by Johanna Wokalek in the 1940s, by Kyra Mladeck in 1997), who was rounded up during 1945, is already a tenant. Lilly and Ilse reminisce as the film ends. Lilly, though saddened by the tragedy that she caused her friends and lovers, is unable to imagine how her life could have been any different, given her obsessive live-for-today-for-tomorrow-we-die mood, common among besieged Berliners. Lilly Wust lived in Berlin until her death on 31 March 2006. The tagline of the film is "Love Transcends Death".
Awards
The movie was nominated for and won many German awards (both Köhler and Schrader notably won the best actress Silver Bear) and also was nominated for the Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Foreign Film.
Cast
- Maria SchraderMaria SchraderMaria Schrader is a German actress, screenwriter, and director. She directed the award winning 2007 film Love Life that was based on a novel by Zeruya Shalev.-Work:...
as Felice Schragenheim (Jaguar) - Juliane KöhlerJuliane KöhlerJuliane Köhler is a German theatre, television, and film actress.Köhler was born in Göttingen to a puppeteer. From 1985-88 she studied under Uta Hagen in New York City and attended the HB acting studio. She also received ballet instruction from Daniela Glück in Munich, Bavaria...
as Lilly Wust (Aimée) - Johanna WokalekJohanna WokalekJohanna Wokalek is a German stage and film actress. A student of Klaus Maria Brandauer, she received critical recognition and three newcomer awards for her performance in the play Rose Bernd. Wokalek is best known for her award-winning appearances in the German films Hierankl, Barfuss, and The...
as Ilse - Heike MakatschHeike Makatsch- Early life :Makatsch was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, the daughter of former German national ice hockey team goaltender Rainer Makatsch. She spent several months in New Mexico in 1988 in an effort to improve her English, and later studied politics and sociology at the University of Düsseldorf for...
as Klärchen - Elisabeth Degen as Lotte
- Detlev BuckDetlev BuckDetlev Buck is a German film director and actor.-Life and work:From his first short film at the age of 21 in 1982, Erst die Arbeit und dann?, he has remained one of the most important filmmakers working in Germany...
as Günther Wust - Inge Keller as Lilly Wust (1997)
- Kyra Mladeck as Ilse (1997)
- Sarah Camp as Frau Kappler
- Klaus Manchen as Herr Kappler
- Margit Bendokat as Frau Jäger
- Jochen Stern as Werner Lause
- Peter WeckPeter Weck-Selected filmography:Actor* Mariandl * Almost Angels * Mariandl's Homecoming * The Cardinal * Marry Me, Cherie * When the Grapevines Bloom on the Danube...
as Chefredakteur Keller - Lia Dultzkaya as Hulda
- Dani LevyDani LevyDani Levy is a film maker, theatrical director and actor.-Work:Dani Levy's films include RobbyKallePaul, I Was on Mars, Meschugge, Du mich auch and Väter. Väter starred Christiane Paul...
as Fritz Borchert - Rüdiger HackerRüdiger HackerRüdiger Hacker is a German actor, radio play narrator and director. Rüdiger Hacker is one of the founding members of the Hall Schaubühne am Ufer in Berlin. He had theatrical engagements at Munich's Volkstheater, the Munich Kammerspiele, the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus and...
as Ernst Biermösel
External links
- Official website
- Zeitgeist films entry
- ISBN 1-55583-450-7: Aimée and Jaguar by Erica Fischer, translated by Edna McCown