Fassbinder confronts Germany’s ghosts in this story of an upwardly mobile socialite in post-war Germany, played by Fassbinder’s favorite onscreen collaborator, Hanna Schygulla. Maria Braun’s marriage is interrupted by the war, and her attempts to build a new life and the twists and turns dealt her by cruel fate provide the setting for one of Fassbinder’s richest and most satisfying melodramas. This was Fassbinder’s international breakthrough film, and made his name as one of the leading lights in world film. In 35mm.