The Marriage of Maria Braun

Quick post before I head off to bed. I have no idea why I'm so drained this week. It's been really frustrating, painful, and stressful, and I think my body is just overwhelmed. It's hard to focus on movies and writing when you feel like you just need to go straight to bed after to work, but alas, I struggle on, for you.

Today I watched The Marriage of Maria Braun, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder in 1979. I was interested in seeing this because I really enjoyed the other movies by this director that I saw for the first time through my project. It was pretty good, although I just personally was having a difficult time with it because I'm so exhausted. I feel really bad when I can't pay attention to something completely because of my mood or physical state, but I guess that's one of the tough things about this project! I really liked the focus on the characters, and the gritty look at life during World War II. It wasn't a heartwarming tale about the human spirit, but a story about how far people will go to get what they want or think that they need.

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

After much rushing about and last minute shopping, I found some time to check out Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974). This is the first film out of The Great Movies that I have never heard of in any way before - I have never heard of this director, or really of anything about this film. It wasn't, perhaps, a perfect film to watch before Christmas, as it was very emotional, but I really found myself lost in the plot and enjoying the story.