Do you, Hermann Braun, take this woman to be your wife?
I do.
I can't get out.
Hey, stay here! Don't run away!
Let me go! Please!
CIVIL REGISTRY
Hermann!
Are you all right? - Come here!
Sign here.
Put the stamp on it!
THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN
FOR PETER ZADEK
Is that you, Maria?
I was worried to death.
I thought something had happened to you.
Nobody wants wedding dresses now.
Too many girls, not enough men.
That's all I got for it.
There's so much shaving gear on the market.
There, my dear.
Let's fry some potatoes with bacon.
We interrupt this performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
for this SOS broadcast for missing persons.
For each of the names mentioned, we have a message.
5821...
Adler.
First name unknown.
Born 1910,
paymaster from Vienna.
5822...
Albartz, Eugen.
I still feel sick at the sight of some of them.
I could do with a tea now.
The medical orderlies say crosswise is not the worst.
If you get hit all on one side, you can't even hold a crutch.
I've seen it going on for six years, and I've been a widow for five.
I'd have been satisfied with mine, if he had only come back.
How long were you married?
I still am married.
I just meant you didn't have much from your marriage.
Yes, I did.
Half a day and a whole night.
Mine was killed right at the start. In Norway.
He was in the navy,
until his ship was sunk.
Two soups, please.
He survived
and swam through icy water covered with burning oil.
Then he had to fight on land.
Then he fell into a crevasse and died.
Why didn't you marry again?
In condolence, they sent me a painting:
a picture of a wreath with a ribbon floating on the waves,
with "They died that Germany might live" written on it.
Just imagine.
"They died that Germany might live," and he's dead.
They send me a picture of the sea, and he falls into a glacier.
There were once seas where the mountains are now,
before the last ice age.
How can you be so sure your husband's not dead?
Because I want him to come back.
What did he say?
Something indecent.
I don't know what you said, but you had no right to.
You must be crazy.
The divorce is pending.
That's why he told me: because he loves me.
But her!
Since I have her husband now,
she said she was going to keep his food ration card.
Ration card?
And now?
I don't know.
Shame on you.
All right, Grandpa Berger. Let's try it on.
The mistake people make is to love one person all their lives.
If we don't have potatoes, we eat turnips.
If we have no turnips, we eat gruel.
But in love, there's only one man,
and when he goes to war and is dead five months later,
you have to mourn for the rest of your life.
Does that make sense, Grandpa?
Much too wide.
No. It ain't good being alone.
It was almost too tight for Karl
the last time he was here, in May '41.
The men still looked like men then.
Now they all look as if they've shrunk.
You can take the underpants. They're warm.
And no one will mind if they're too big.
Let's say three bundles of firewood?
All right.
Look what Maria had.
Three weeks of being in love and one day of marriage.
Now she stands there with her search board.
Do you know why we always stick to one guy?
Because there is only one you love.
I don't know how Maria knew it at such a tender age.
Here she is.
Take your things, Grandpa.
She has her pride.
How wide?
"Pride," I said.
There you are at last.
I was just sorting out your father's things.
Hello, Grandpa Berger.
It's nice to have a man in the house to come home to.
And it's warm, too.
Yes, it's warm, too.
Why are you doing that here?
It's my way of remembering your father.
Grandpa Berger can use them. Father won't need them anymore,
and we need firewood.
I thought the same thing,
but what about Father's belongings?
Father is dead and we're alive.
What will you give me for them? Your brooch?
My brooch?
It's very valuable.
There's one missing.
Very well.
Okay then.
Wait. I'll go get it.
Here.
Bunch of Nazis!
Snotty-nosed bastards!
They're not proper men anymore.
What difference does it make,
whether you're a man or a woman if you're freezing?
Something has to change.
What do you want to change?
I don't know.
But something has to happen.
- Do you know Hermann Braun? - No.
Shed no tears for love
In this wide world there's more than one
There's more than one fish in the sea
I look like a poodle.
You think so?
It's the latest thing.
I'll bet...
the Americans are just crazy about poodles.
My Willy wouldn't have approved. That's for sure.
Hermann wouldn't have minded.
And they won't hire you anyway.
- We'll see about that. - What'll you wear?
What do you do with this?
Play music.
Shall I play something for you? Any requests?
Yes.
The German national anthem.
Cut it out. For God's sake, stop it.
What use is it if you can't even play the national anthem?
Go on in.
Keep your eyes open here.
I didn't think you were coming. I waited so long.
Hold this a second.
Black, short sleeves,
and low-cut.
It wasn't easy to come by. Is it for you or is it a gift?
It's a gift.
We all have to make a living. And the liquor?
For my mom.
Helps her forget her troubles with her daughter...
and eases her heartache.
I have a valuable complete edition of Kleist's works, 1907.
Would that be something for you?
Books burn too easily,
and they don't keep you warm.
- If you look at it that way. - That's the way I look at it.
Maybe it's better that way for now.
Thanks a lot.
And good luck.
I'm not going to sew it for you.
You know I can't sew, Mom.
My dear girl.
Mom!
Come on.
When a girl has pretty legs like you...
she ought to show them.
You father would turn over in his grave.
I don't think it's right either.
I just pray your soul
doesn't come to harm, my girl.
Make sure somebody gives you a nice pair of stockings...
if you're letting yourself in for that sort of thing.
HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM
Amazing.
Really amazing.
I learned it here on these bars.
Is that a new way to apply for a job?
Not really, but...
if it were...
I'd have been hired by now.
We don't need anyone.
You just might not need anyone apart from me.
Come in here.
- We still have doors in our place. - Well, we don't.
I need your name, address
and age.
Are you married?
Yes.
Don't wear your wedding ring to work.
And I need a health certificate.
Payment in cash
or goods?
You can get dressed again, Mrs. Binder.
Everything okay? Do I get a certificate?
No.
You'll have to take a break for three or four weeks.
Have I caught something?
Something bad, I'm afraid.
You won't be able to work.
That's tough.
Come back on Tuesday.
Bye.
And send the next patient in.
Little Maria.
You used to give me a kiss on the forehead.
Did I really?
Yes.
Then I must have forgotten...
or learned to forget.
That's sad.
Yes, it's sad.
But tell me about yourself.
I need a health certificate.
Of course. It's pretty cold this year.
I'm working in a bar...
selling beer, not myself.
I've had to learn to stop believing people too...
but I still believe you.
You know what you're doing.
And if anything happens,
I'll get some penicillin for you.
I'm not sure how,
but I'll find a way.
Nothing's going to happen to me.
What is penicillin?
Forget it, Maria.
How is your mother?
The war hasn't taken away her sense of humor.
She shares my rations, cries my tears, tells my lies.
But she leaves the thinking to me,
so that I have no time for dreams.
You can have my wife's bicycle, if you want.
It was as good as new under all the rubble.
Thank you.
Why don't you ask about Hermann?
You don't have to believe he'll come back.
It's enough that I know he will.
My gloves.
You stole my gloves, you rat! You bastard!
Say that again, you bum!
Stop it, you Nazi swine!
DOES ANYONE KNOW HERMANN BRAUN?
- Quiet tonight. - It's Tuesday.
- It's not what you imagined, huh? - I'm satisfied.
Then everything's fine.
- If you ask me - - I didn't ask you.
You're here, and your Hermann's not here.
He's somewhere else.
Maybe he's dead...
and love's only a feeling.
It's not the truth. - Sure love's a feeling.
And a great love is a great feeling,
and a great truth.
Truth.
The truth's what you have in your belly when you're hungry.
Feelings are what you have between your legs...
like an itch that you scratch.
And for this here,
you need a full belly,
and someone who's here,
not just somewhere or maybe nowhere.
Your friend over there - he's here...
and he's clearly not starving,
and he's sweet on you.
What friend?
- Your Bill, darling. - I don't know any Bill.
You hadn't even noticed him, huh?
- No. Which one is he? - Over there.
He's big and strong. He just happens to be black.
Better black than brown.
Braun.
He was just a normal guy till you came.
Now he's sitting there as if paralyzed.
He wanted to know everything about you.
Look. Just like a movie star.
How do I look?
Great. Why?
Because right now I want to look great.
What are you crying for, you silly cow?
Your man's not dead.
He's standing there in front of you.
Thank your lucky stars you still have him
and that it didn't happen to him.
Hermann didn't suffer.
It was all over quickly.
They say no one made it out alive.
Hello. It's me.
Guess what I've got.
You won't believe it.
Willy.
You.
You're really back?
Betti, you've got him back!
We're so stupid.
All we can do is weep for joy
that you're together,
and that Willy's safe and sound.
Hermann is dead.
My dear!
Leave me alone.
Where are you going?
- To the bar. - Darling, don't!
I have to go someplace
where I can be alone.
Beautiful.
Please correct me if I speak incorrectly.
What are you thinking?
I was wondering if it's possible
to think about nothing.
Is it?
I don't think I can do it.
I think I can.
You think I'd have gotten over it as quickly as Maria?
I hope you would have, Betti.
What's that?
Why?
It's nice being with you, Bill.
I was very happy just now.
Only just now?
I'm always happy when I'm with you.
Me, too.
Then it's simple:
If we're always together, we'll always be happy.
- Maybe. - Not maybe.
For sure.
I have something for you.
You shouldn't give me so many presents.
It's something special this time.
And you must promise me you'll accept it.
No, Bill.
I can't accept this ring.
I'm very fond of you and I want to be with you,
but I'll never marry you.
I'm married...
to my husband.
Are you sure?
Positive.
How positive?
Please, please, please.
Very well.
You'll soon feel it.
You'll help deliver it, won't you? Promise me.
I can't, Maria.
I'm too old to live,
and too scared to die.
It scares me the way you talk.
Nonsense. Let's just say I'm quitting.
I'm going to stay with my daughter in the Black Forest.
My hands shake too much.
Not for me...
or my little boy.
I'll come to you when it's time.
Dear little Maria.
Yes, I'll come to you...
and you'll help me give birth to him.
It will be a boy, won't it?
The chances aren't bad.
Really?
About fifty-fifty.
You don't take me seriously.
Oh, yes, I do.
Do you have a father for your boy?
Can you have a baby without one?
The father's black, and my son will be called Hermann.
- I'm not sick. I'm pregnant. - Pregnant.
- You can also say "expecting." - That's nice.
I'm expecting.
Mom.
Grandpa Berger.
Nobody home. - We're alone at last.
Are you expecting?
Yes.
I'm expecting, too.
I'll speak German with him.
And you?
English.
Then he can decide
whether to marry a German or American girl.
American girls are ugly.
German men are ugly.
I know only one American man who's handsome.
I know only one German girl who's beautiful.
- And strong. - And rich.
And brave.
And tender.
Guess who I mean.
Me?
Hermann?
Look, Bill.
It's Hermann.
So, you met the deceased in the Moonlight Bar?
Would you tell us more about this bar?
It's a bar like any other.
Wouldn't you say that this was a very special bar?
A bar exclusively for members of American occupation forces?
Of course. It was always off-limits. Germans are not allowed in.
Exactly. Germans have no business being in this bar.
Except for the hostesses who work there.
Would that be a fair description of your profession?
And that in this role you attached yourself to the deceased...
and allowed yourself to be kept by him?
While your husband was a Russian prisoner of war,
you, for low, egotistical reasons started an affair with a man...
with a man who could pay for your favors with chocolate and silk stockings.
I was very fond of him.
You seem to have a big heart.
No.
You needn't look it up.
You wouldn't understand the difference anyway.
I was fond of Bill...
and I love my husband.
That is really a very fine difference.
You can stop questioning her.
It was I who killed that negro.
The baby will be ours.
We'll explain it all to him later.
Later is a long time.
What are you going to do till then?
I'll wait for you.
You're a young and beautiful woman.
I'm your wife.
And how do you intend to live?
I've never learned anything. I must learn to work first.
Then I'll get work.
We'll begin our life when we're together again.
Attention on platform 1. Freight train passing through.
Shall I carry it?
No. Things are tough enough for you.
I know how hard this is for a mother.
And it was a boy, too.
The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away.
Maybe it has its positive side, too.
The poor creature wouldn't have had it easy in life.
And neither would you.
I never said I wanted to have it easy.
But with a black child?
Now he's a little black angel.
A little black angel. That's nice.
Will he always have flowers on his grave?
I promise you he will.
What are you going to do when you get back to your world?
I don't know,
but I have a lot to do.
I must go now.
Express No. 309 departing for Heidelberg
will be delayed for several minutes.
TO FIRST CLASS
Leni!
Let me through.
Attention on Track 5.
Close the doors. The train is about to depart.
I have to find my little girl!
There's no girl here.
- I beg your pardon? - Your Leni, ma'am.
It's a boy, not a girl.
You shouldn't have called him Leni, then.
How much extra for first class?
- Depends how far you're going. - Depends how far I get with that.
Can I go in now?
That should take care of it.
Not many people travel first-class.
Times aren't easy.
See him? He's French, but he has a factory here.
French?
Well, half French. He's quite well-heeled.
Hold this a moment.
Open the case and turn your back.
And now?
Now you can close it again.
I can't read clearly with one eye.
Do I charge for 23 kilometers or 32?
Have you noticed how tiny the lavatories are?
I always thought they'd be bigger in first class,
because the people are fatter.
I didn't have any passengers at first after the currency reform.
Now I even get people like you.
Now just put the dress back- don't forget the purse - and then...
Thanks a lot.
Excuse me?
Oh, you speak German?
I heard you were French. I imagined you'd speak English.
I don't speak French myself.
I don't speak English, but I do speak German.
What can I do for you?
Just answer a simple question.
Is that seat free?
I believe it is.
It looks like it is.
Please sit down.
Thank you. I don't like sitting facing the engine.
Haven't we met somewhere?
I'm sure we haven't.
Never?
I'm positive.
Here's your ticket and your suitcase.
Put the suitcase in the luggage rack.
Have a pleasant trip, ma'am.
Thank you, conductor.
- Dr. Karl Oswald... - Pleased to meet you.
...of Oswald Textiles. - Pleased to meet you.
- Cigarette? - No, thanks. I don't smoke.
Neither do I.
You like traveling by train, too? - Sometimes.
It gives you time to think.
That's exactly what I've been trying to do the whole time.
I'm afraid I don't speak English.
The lady's asleep. Perhaps you could -
Incredible. What did you tell him?
I said you were Karl Oswald of textile fame,
that you like to travel,
and that you want to use the time to think.
- Where did you learn such good English? - In bed.
May I invite you to the dining car?
That's a very good idea.
I have something to discuss with you. A business matter.
And after three months, if we find we don't get along -
I'd be answerable to no one but you?
No one.
You'll get along fine with Senkenberg and the other men.
Are there no women?
Not in top positions. Not yet, anyway.
Good. Then I'll be the first.
We've managed very well without them up to now.
Senkenberg, you're being rude.
Forget it. Caution is the better part of valor.
- That's right. - Thank you.
And what is my exact title?
Let's say...
personal adviser.
How personal?
That depends on
the personal adviser's abilities and initiative.
- Really? - Really.
I told you about our venture with the Americans.
Don't forget: It's always about money.
However you meant that, Senkenberg,
you're perfectly right.
Let him talk.
Senkenberg's an affable person, as am I.
Well, I'm not.
- Hermann will be sad about the baby. - I'm not so sure.
Dr. Konrad Adenauer adamantly rejected rumors
that he was in favor of creating a West German army.
- You don't have any experience. - She'll learn.
Don't move out! Who will take care of you?
"We do not wish to take part in a new war, "he said.
I need my own apartment. I have so much to do before Hermann gets out.
"We have had enough dead.
Too many young people have perished. "
I don't understand you.
Maria is not like you.
"It must be made clear once and for all
that I am against German rearmament
and the formation of a new German army. "
Will you be earning enough?
Here is an excerpt from Dr. Adenauer's speech:
"If it is asserted
that, under my authority,
the rearmament of Germany will take place,
I can only reply that this assertion is pure fabrication. "
I'm sorry, Betti.
I guess I've changed a lot.
Looking at you,
nobody could tell what you've been through.
- She didn't mean it that way. - I'll take care of that.
- Maybe what Betti says is true. - What?
That Oswald's really after Maria.
Do you understand now why I have to move out of here?
And now for our program of musical requests.
We begin with the song "When the Bells Do Brightly Ring."
Were you very sad?
Yes, but it was a consolation to know you'd be sad, too.
And that I can tell you everything.
And that I'm pleased you don't ask me what you don't have to ask.
And that I'm going to build a house for us,
as you would have done.
There's a Greek word for people you let work for you.
Translated, it means literally, "footman."
I'm your "footman"?
No, that's not true. I'm not your feet.
Just say I'm your wife.
It was a stupid analogy.
You're Maria...
and you're my wife.
And we're not Greeks.
No, you really couldn't say that.
But you have courage.
You're beautiful...
and intelligent...
and I love you.
I may change in the next few years.
You've considered everything very carefully.
Yes, maybe it's just that.
I'll always recognize you.
Your time's up.
On the contrary.
My time's just beginning.
What did he say?
That Pency can supply the plant as a whole,
not individual parts.
I understood something about handwork.
Senkenberg, we have problems enough without your making new ones.
I'm just trying to prevent us from having any.
I see no serious way of financing more than two of these machines -
"We're a solid firm, not a bunch of speculators."
I know that by heart now.
But it doesn't solve the problem.
You have to take risks sometimes.
We're not at the races here.
I know.
But the Americans are getting edgy.
We have to tell them something.
You're quite right. Well, Senkenberg?
For once in your life, stop being Senkenberg!
Be Napoleon. Or Blücher, if you prefer.
All right.
We can take three SE machines,
if we mortgage our stocks and get an ERP credit, and if-
lf, if, if! Of course there are ifs!
That's our job. We're business people, not bookkeepers.
I beg your pardon, but I am a bookkeeper.
Sorry. All I meant was that taking a risk-
What did he say?
He summed up our negotiations.
Didn't he say he was sleepy?
He said he was tired, meaning he's fed up.
What do we do?
It looks as if we've bitten off more than we can chew.
Maybe this deal is a bit too big for us after all.
That means dropping nylon
and giving German women a woven -
May I say something?
Of course.
Go drink a brandy. Give me half an hour alone here.