In the nineteenth century, seventeen year old Effi Briest is married to the older Baron von Instetten and moves into a house, that she believes has a ghost, in a small isolated Baltic town. She soon bears a daughter, Annie, and hires the lapsed Catholic Roswitha to look after her. Effi is lonely when her husband is away on business, so she spends time riding and walking along the shore with Major Crampas. Instetten is promoted to Ministerial Councillor and the family moves to... (Full plot summary below)
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In the nineteenth century, seventeen year old Effi Briest is married to the older Baron von Instetten and moves into a house, that she believes has a ghost, in a small isolated Baltic town. She soon bears a daughter, Annie, and hires the lapsed Catholic Roswitha to look after her. Effi is lonely when her husband is away on business, so she spends time riding and walking along the shore with Major Crampas. Instetten is promoted to Ministerial Councillor and the family moves to Berlin, where Effi enjoys the social life. Six years later, the Baron is given letters from Crampas to Effi that convince him that they had an affair. He feels obliged to challenge Crampas to a duel and banish Effi from the house.
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| Time OutTony RaynsFilmed in black and white, with extraordinary delicacy and reserve, this is one of Fassbinder's best films. |
| Chicago ReaderDave KehrThe slow, deliberate pace is sometimes taxing, but this story of a 16-year-old girl locked in the boredom of a loveless marriage is perfectly suited to Fassbinder's stifling mise-en-scene. |
| The GateAndrew ParkerThe best collaboration between Fassbinder and frequent star Schygulla, who delivers a truly affecting turn in the title role. |
| New York TimesVincent CanbyIt's visually beguiling -- its cameramen having found shades of gray between black and white I'm not sure I've seen before -- and it is performed by the Fassbinder stock company with the precision and style one seldom finds outside the legitimate theater. |
| User ReviewRasma LA Rainer Werner Fassbinder must see. A film that attempts to catch the spirit and mood of the novel by Theodor Fontane, published in 1894. Filmed in black and white with long sequences, this movie has nothing in common with the popular movie versions of the novels of Jane Austen. Very much like Brecht theater, Fassbinder is not going for identification but alienation, or Verfremdung. Not feeling with the protagonists, but making us think about the problematic codes of society in the late 19th century is what the film goes for. Not for the easily bored or with short attention span. |
| User ReviewSteve BUne pure merveille de Fassbinder filme de main de maitre et avec une direction photo impressionnante -des noirs, blancs et gris comme ça je ne connaissait que Le Ruban Blanc. Voici un classique dont l'univers impitoyable se marie bien avec celui du realisateur. |
| User ReviewLiam PA literary adaptation unlike any other. Fassbinders wonderful film is fully self aware of it's source text and a films ability to only physically show so much but say all. Action and plot progression is glazed over with voice over or titles cards with words I can only assume are taken directly from the novel. The focus here is not on plot but character development, how the title character goes from an innocent, carefree child to a fallen woman. Fassbinder's camera probes Effi's development by extensively framing her using carefully selected objects amongst the impeccably realised period set design. Shrouded by net curtains or extensively reflected in mirrors, (about a third of the shots we see of Effi are through the reflection of a mirror) the black and white photography is full of subtle yet rich subtext. This film is so visually dense, a book could be writen about the cinematography alone. Another Fassbinder masterpiece. |
| User ReviewArt SThe direction is just amazing. Bonkers. Wow. |
| User ReviewThomas SOne of the best, most sensitive attempts to create a movie from a great novel. |
| User ReviewMax NSolo puedo culpar al pobre subititulaje, que no permite disfrutar integramente de los dialogos. El enfoque de esta narracion historico costumbrista es bastante criptico y deja bastante que pensar, pese a la simpleza del argumento. La exquisitez de la puesta en escena sobrecoge a la vista, gracias a unos encuandres alucinantes que juegan con los espejos y los marcos de las puertas para provocar alienacion y encierro. La camara, en riguroso blanco y negro, se mueve de tal manera que cuenta la historia por si sola. Sobresaliente uso de la elipse. Sobran palabras, otra perfecta entrega de Fassbinder. Un deber. |
