Marianne and Juliane
Encyclopedia
Marianne and Juliane is a 1981 West German film directed by Margarethe von Trotta. Its original German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 title is Die bleierne Zeit, an idiomatic expression which can be translated as "the leaden times" and refers to a complex mixture of feelings that were shared by many people of the 1970s political left; including feelings of melancholy over the fracturing and perceived failure of the 1960s social movements (such as the American Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...

 and the German student movement
German student movement
The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...

) and the general optimism that accompanied those movements, feelings of people's personal freedom being still highly restricted by social conventions, deep-seated hate for the official political system, and the strong urge to change that system as quickly and radically as possible by any means necessary, coupled with the perceived inability to do anything that really does change it. The other side of "the leaden times" was the fear of left-wing terrorism
Left-wing terrorism
Left-wing terrorism, sometimes called Marxist-Leninist terrorism or revolutionary/left-wing terrorism is a tactic used to overthrow capitalism and replace it with Marxist-Leninist or socialist government.-Ideology:...

 that captivated and somewhat paralyzed the general population.

The film has been released in the UK as The German Sisters. The screenplay is a fictionalized account of the true lives of Christiane and Gudrun Ensslin
Gudrun Ensslin
Gudrun Ensslin was a founder of the German militant group Red Army Faction . After becoming involved with co-founder Andreas Baader, Ensslin was influential in the politicization of Baader's voluntaristic anarchistic beliefs. Ensslin was perhaps the intellectual head of the RAF...

. Gudrun, a member of The Red Army Faction
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...

, was found dead in her prison cell in Stammheim
Stammheim Prison
Stammheim Prison is a prison in Stuttgart, Baden Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the northern boundaries of Stuttgart in the city district of Stuttgart-Stammheim — right between fields and apartment blocks on the fringes of Stammheim...

 in 1977 (officially, and according to most historians also in fact, she took her own life; however for decades many people in Germany's political left were convinced that she had been killed by agents of the state). In the film, Von Trotta depicts the two sisters Juliane (Christine) and Marianne (Gudrun) through their friendship and journey to understanding each other. Marianne and Juliane was von Trotta's third film and solidified her position as a director of the New German Cinema
New German Cinema
New German cinema is a period in German cinema which lasted from the late 1960s into the 1980s. It saw the emergence of a new generation of directors...

.

Plot

Two sisters, both dedicated to women's civil rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...

, fight for the same cause, although in very different ways. The story is interspersed with flashbacks into the sisters' childhood.

The sisters choose diverging paths of rebellion against the system. Juliane works as a feminist journalist rallying for a woman’s right to abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 while Marianne commits herself to a violent revolutionary terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 group. The film quickly informs us that Marianne has abandoned her husband and child to work for a radical terrorist group. Her husband arrives at Julianne's house and states that Juliane must take Jan (their son) because the husband has to leave the country for work. Juliane is not supportive of her sister’s choices because she feels that they are damaging to the women’s movement
Feminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...

. She informs the husband that she does not have time to care for the child. Next the husband steps out to “go get something”, promising to return, but instead takes his life
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 leaving Jan without a guardian.

Marianne shows up on the scene to discuss her political views with her sister and urge her to join the movement. Juliane informs her of her husband’s suicide and of her intent to find a foster home for Jan. Marianne asks her sister to watch over Jan but Juliane replies “you would have me take on the life that you chose to leave”. Basically stating “so what’s not good enough for you is good enough for me”. Juliane sticks by her guns and refuses to take on Jan. This fact still does not stop Marianne from continuing on in the movement. She is content to allow Jan to have the life that will be dealt to him through foster care because she believes that “any life he has in foster care will be better than the life many children have in third world countries.” The sister’s paths continue to cross as Marianne bursts in unannounced to her sister’s life. The last time that Juliane sees her sister before she is arrested, Marianne wakes her and her long-term boyfriend up at 3 a.m. and wants to make coffee and take Juliane’s clothes. Soon afterward, we discover that Marianne has been arrested and is being held in a high security prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

. Juliane goes to visit her sister. When she arrives at the prison she is ordered to strip down and is searched
Strip search
A strip search is the stripping of a person to check for weapons or other contraband.-Legality of strip searches:...

. Then she is let into the waiting room and told to wait for her sister. The guard returns and informs her that Marianne refuses to see her.

Juliane goes home agonizing over her inability to communicate with her sister and see how she is doing. Her boyfriend suggests that she write a letter to her sister telling her how she feels. The film goes into a flashback of their childhood where we see the closeness of the sisters. Juliane mails the letter and soon after is able to visit with her sister. They argue often but Juliane continues to come and visit her sister. They have a bad argument on one of these occasions and Marianne slaps her sister. Marianne is then moved to a maximum-security prison
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...

 where the two must sit on the opposite sides of a pane of glass and communicate through an intercom
Intercom
An intercom , talkback or doorphone is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings, functioning independently of the public telephone network. Intercoms are generally mounted permanently in buildings and vehicles...

.

Juliane becomes so obsessed with her sister and her problems that her own relationships begin to fall apart. Her boyfriend suggests that the two of them take a vacation together. While on vacation they see the face of Marianne on TV but cannot understand what has happened to her because of the language barrier
Language barrier
Language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to indicate the difficulties faced when people who have no language in common attempt to communicate with each other...

. Juliane runs back to their hotel and calls her parents to find that Marianne has “committed suicide”. Juliane and her father do not believe that Marianne actually killed herself. Juliane begins an obsessive journey to discover what really happened to her sister. This destroys her relationship with her boyfriend of ten years. She ultimately proves to herself that Marianne was murdered but when she calls the papers with the news, she is informed that her sister's death is “old news” and nobody cares if it was murder or suicide. Juliane is left with the knowledge but cannot convince the papers to defend the name of a dead terrorist.

Later Juliane is reunited with Jan because someone attempts to murder him when they find out who his mother was. Juliane takes him back home with her after he has undergone extensive reconstructive surgery
Reconstructive surgery
Reconstructive surgery is, in its broadest sense, the use of surgery to restore the form and function of the body, although Maxillo-Facial Surgeons, Plastic Surgeons and Otolaryngologists do reconstructive surgery on faces after trauma and to reconstruct the head and neck after cancer.Other...

. He is aloof and has no interest in having a relationship with his aunt. He has nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...

s of the fire that nearly killed him.

The film ends with him walking into Juliane’s workroom and tearing up the picture of his mother that is on the wall. Juliane tells him “you are wrong, Jan. Your mother was a great woman. I’ll tell you about her”. Jan says that he wants to know everything and then yells “start now! Start now!” The film fades out on Juliane’s face looking at him.

Crew

Produced by:
Eberhard Junkersdorf
Eberhard Junkersdorf
Eberhard Junkersdorf is a German film producer. He has produced over 50 films since 1975. He was a member of the jury at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Coup de Grâce...



Cinematography by:
Franz Rath

Edited by:
Dagmar Hirtz

Production Design:
Barbara Kloth
and Georg von Kieseritzky

Costume Design
Monika Hasse
Jorge Jara

Make-up
Rüdiger Knoll

Production Management
Ute Ehmke
Lotti Essid

Art Department
Werner Mink

Reception

This film was well received and became a platform for Von Trotta as a director of the new German cinema. Though she was not as highly recognized as her male counterparts, the New German Cinema and the study of the more human side of contemporary political issues (like terrorism in this case) became her focus. In regards to the film, Barton Byg notes, "rather than criticize hysterical responses to terrorism, the film employs its emotive power" (Finn 47). In America the film was pitched to be less about terrorism and the emotional side of the strained relationship but more about a sisterly relationship that was searching for understanding. (Finn) The film did not meet only with praise. It was also criticized for attempting to "hide" its meaning behind the sister-sister relationship. A meaning that was empathetic to the plight of the terrorist-activist. Charlotte Delorme, a critic, stated: "If Marianne and Juliane were really what it claims to be it would not have gotten any support, distribution, and exhibition." (Finn)

Accolades

At the 1981 Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...

, Trotta won the Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...

 and the FIPRESCI
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...

 awards, while the actresses who played the title sisters tied for Best Actress. In 1982, the film won the Outstanding Feature Film Award in West Germany, and Trotta received a special award commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany.

At the Créteil Films de Femmes, an International Woman's Film Festival, 1981, the film won the Prix du Publique and Prix du Jury.

Sources

  • Marianne and Julianne at the IMDb
  • Susan E. Linville: Retrieving History: Margarethe von Trotta's Marianne and Juliane, PMLA, Vol. 106, No. 3 (May 1991), pp. 446-458
  • Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media, no. 29, February 1984, pp. 56-59
  • Finn, Carl: The New German Cinema: Music History, and the Matter of Style, University of California Press, 2004
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