Aimee and Jaguar

Starring:Maria Schrader, Juliane KÃ¶hler, Johanna Wokalek, Heike Makatsch, Elisabeth Degen, Detlev Buck, Inge Keller, Kyra Mladeck, Sarah Camp, Klaus Manchen, Margit Bendokat, Jochen Stern, Peter Weck, Lia Dultzkaya, Dani Levy, Hans-Christoph Blumenberg, RÃ¼diger Hacker, Rosel Zech, Ulrich Matthes, Dorkas Kiefer
Director: Max FÃ¤rberbÃ¶ck
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
Product Type: DVD

Description

In 1943, while the Allies are bombing Berlin and the Gestapo is purging the capital of Jews, a dangerous love affair blossoms between two women. One of them, Lilly Wust (Juliane Köhler), married and the mother of four sons, enjoys the privileges of her stature as an exemplar of Nazi motherhood. For her, this affair will be the most decisive experience of her life. For the other woman, Felice Schragenheim (Maria Schrader), a Jewess and member of the underground, their love fuels her with the hope that she will survive. A half-century later, Lilly Wust told her incredible story to writer Erica Fischer, and thebook, AIMEE & JAGUAR, first published in 1994 immediately became a bestseller and has since been translated into eleven languages. Max Färberböck's debut film, based on Fischer's book, is the true story of this extraordinary relationship. The film was nominated for a 1999 Golden Globe Award and was Germany's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Both actresses received Silver Bears at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival for their portrayals of "Aimée" and "Jaguar".

Customer Reviews:

left a lasting impression.......2007-05-06

Brilliant movie about two women who fall in love through the endings of world war II. One woman is Jewish, and has disguised herself very well, as people all think she's Aryan German. The other woman, Mrs. Wurst is married to an active Nazi soldier who is fighting. After she leaves him, she falls in love with Felice, and they explore their love for each other. When the end of the war is nearing Felice feeling empathy with her lover over the fact that she feels that she is hiding something, reveals that she is Jewish. It turns out, that Wurst did not care, and they remain in love. The Gestapo finds felice after they come home from a romp in the country, and she is sent away. Very touching story, I would recommend it to others, lesbian, or not.

I'm Amazed.......2007-02-16

Maybe it's because I read the book before I saw the movie, but I was disappointed with the film version of this story.

If you liked the movie, and judging by the reviews many do, do yourself an immense favor and read the book. Not only will you get the REAL true story, complete with pictures, letters and more, but you'll get a sweeping and poignant impression of botht the era and this tender love story.

One of my all time favorites.......2006-11-07

This movie is based on a book that is based on a true story. It's WWII, and this is one story of the women, a facet of war that often gets short shrift. The movie is in German with English subtitles, making it all the more interesting and making it impossible to multi-task. It's worth paying attention. Two of these women are going to fall madly in love with each other in spite of the incredible odds working against them. One is a Nazi housefrau, one the member of a Jewish underground network. They meet, however, as women, become friends and fall deeply in love with each other at a time and place that would seem the worst of all times and places for such a thing. For that, it is a love story that overcomes all obstacles until the end. An ending that will break your heart.

Insight Into Life in Berlin During the War, but a Muddled Love Story........2006-05-14

"Aimee and Jaguar" is based on the memoirs of Lilly Wust, co-authored by Erica Fischer and published in 1994, which recount the love affair that Mrs. Wust, then a married mother of 4 young children, had with Jewish libertine Felice Schragenheim as the bombs fell in Berlin 1943-1944. While her husband (Detlev Buck) was fighting on the Eastern Front, Lilly (Juliane Kohler) kept the company of many German officers. Felice (Maria Schrader) used the last name Schrader, passed herself off as gentile, and worked for a Nazi newspaper. All the while, she consorted with a scandalous band of ladies, seemingly left over from more carefree Weimar days, and flaunted a string of lesbian lovers. By coincidence, Lilly and Felice meet. What at first seems like one of Felice's caprices turns into a life-changing relationship for Lilly. But Lilly is resentful of Felice's secrecy. Felice's underground compatriots resent Lilly's bourgeois sensibilities. And the Gestapo is closing in.

"Aimee and Jaguar" may be more interesting for the picture it paints of life in Berlin in the final years of World War II than for Lilly and Felice's affair. The time the film spends recreating the environment in which these two women live and their lives before they become lovers makes the film too long and poorly paced. Nevertheless, it provides insight into Berliners' efforts to get on with life as bombs rained down on them and corpses littered the streets as well as the struggles of Jews and other underground populations who remained in Germany -while the love affair impressed me as awkward and implausible under less desperate circumstances. Lilly and Felice have nothing in common except emotional needs -including an almost pathological need for attention- heightened by the stresses of war. "Aimee" and "Jaguar" were their pet names for one another.

Lily and Felice are so self-absorbed that it left me disinterested in the scenes between them. Neither is a sympathetic character. Lilly is an unfaithful housewife who takes no pleasure in her affairs, a mother who doesn't seem to care for her children. She shows no consideration for her husband's nightmare on the Eastern Front, instead inflicting her domestic drama on him. Felice refuses to live life on any but her own terms, to the point of delusion and self-destruction. She describes herself as "ungrateful and desperate for admiration" and values her "mediocre little right to be free" above all else. But it is an illusion of freedom she seeks. Felice turned down numerous opportunities to leave Germany, preferring to stay and lead the life of a lesbian party girl, which is hardly inconspicuous under puritanical Nazi rule. She toys with Lilly's affections. She's ballsy, but that's it. Lilly and Felice are both so caught up in their own personalities that they deny the reality in which they live. That put me off, while the scenes of wartime Berlin interested me. German with optional English subtitles.

The DVD (Zeitgeist 2001): "Mini-Documentary on the Making of Aimee and Jaguar" (6 min)(subtitled) includes part of an interview with the real Lilly Wust, director Max Farberbock, the cast, and some behind-the-scenes footage. "Behind-the-Scenes Footage" (5 min)(not subtitled) is additional footage. "Cast and Crew Interviews" (12 min)(subtitled) is worth watching. There are interviews with actresses Juliane Kohler and Maria Schrader, Lilly Wust, director Max Farberbock, and cinematographer Tony Imi. "Photo Gallery of the Real Life Aimee and Jaguar" contains more than 60 photographs of Lilly, Felice, and their families, including some taken on the banks of the Havel River the day of Felice's arrest. Also interesting are photos of letters, poems, their marriage contract, and various documents. "What Happened to Lilly and Felice" (text) is a summary of what Lilly did after the war. There are American and German theatrical trailers.

WOW, this film has gone above and beyond all my expectations.......2006-04-14

I am not normally someone to buy DVDs, I am very picky about my movies and did not expect much from Aimee and Jaguar. The title was funny and the picture seemed odd to say the least. But what I recieved was an extremely high quality movie with true love and passion. The plot is amazing and not only do you get to see how the war affected everyones' lives, you get to see how it united to women that became passionately in love with one another. It is funny, sad, romantic, adventurous, everything you want in a movie. It is also foreign, which is always a plus. This movie is easily one of my favorites of all time, and by far the BEST lesbian themed movie I have seen. It shows how love can be between anyone, and that someone's sex is not important when love comes by. I recommend renting this, but you will want to buy it! I don't normally spend money on dvds, i find it stupid and unecessary, but this movie is sooooo good, I can't stop watching it. Seriously, you won't be dissapointed, and congrats if you got this far into the reviews to read mine =).

Average customer rating:

left a lasting impression
I'm Amazed
One of my all time favorites
Insight Into Life in Berlin During the War, but a Muddled Love Story.
WOW, this film has gone above and beyond all my expectations

Aimee & Jaguar [Region 2]
Starring: Maria Schrader , Juliane Köhler , Johanna Wokalek , Heike Makatsch , and Elisabeth Degen
Director: Max Färberböck
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Fingersmith
Tipping the Velvet
Amour de Femme
Loving Annabelle
Girl Play

ASIN: B00005QG1N

Customer Reviews:

left a lasting impression.......2007-05-06

I'm Amazed.......2007-02-16

One of my all time favorites.......2006-11-07

Insight Into Life in Berlin During the War, but a Muddled Love Story........2006-05-14

WOW, this film has gone above and beyond all my expectations.......2006-04-14

Average customer rating:

left a lasting impression
I'm Amazed
One of my all time favorites
Insight Into Life in Berlin During the War, but a Muddled Love Story.
WOW, this film has gone above and beyond all my expectations

Aimee & Jaguar [Region 2]
Starring: Maria Schrader , Juliane Köhler , Johanna Wokalek , Heike Makatsch , and Elisabeth Degen
Director: Max Färberböck
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Fingersmith
Tipping the Velvet
Amour de Femme
Loving Annabelle
Girl Play

ASIN: B00004U421

Customer Reviews:

left a lasting impression.......2007-05-06

I'm Amazed.......2007-02-16

One of my all time favorites.......2006-11-07

Insight Into Life in Berlin During the War, but a Muddled Love Story........2006-05-14

WOW, this film has gone above and beyond all my expectations.......2006-04-14

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown

For Whom The Bell Tolls

Chillicothe (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: Needful Things

Der König des Dschungels