Aimée & Jaguar (1999)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Max Färberböck

Writers:

Max Färberböck (writer)
Rona Munro (writer)

Release Date:

11 February 1999 (Germany)

Genre:

Romance | Drama | War

Tagline:

A Love Larger Than Death

Plot:

Berlin 1943/44 ("The Battle of Berlin"). Felice, an intelligent and courageous Jewish woman who lives under a false name...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Gestapo | Jewish | Unfaithful Wife | Bombing

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Maria Schrader	...	Felice Schragenheim (Jaguar)
Juliane Köhler	...	Lilly Wust (Aimée)
Johanna Wokalek	...	Ilse
Heike Makatsch	...	Klärchen
Elisabeth Degen	...	Lotte
Detlev Buck	...	Günther Wust
Inge Keller	...	Lilly Wust (1997)
Kyra Mladeck	...	Ilse (1997)
Sarah Camp	...	Frau Kappler
Klaus Manchen	...	Herr Kappler
Margit Bendokat	...	Frau Jäger
Jochen Stern	...	Werner Lause
Peter Weck	...	Chefredakteur Keller
Lia Dultzkaya	...	Hulda
Dani Levy	...	Fritz Borchert

Also Known As:

Aimee & Jaguar (USA)
Aimee and Jaguar (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Denmark:11 | Germany:12 (bw) | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:18 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Everest Studio, Cologne, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Senator Film Produktion

Trivia:

Germany's entry to the Academy Awards, in the category of Best Foreign Language Film (1999).

Quotes:

Lotte: My lover always says goodbye as if it were the last time.

Movie Connections:

Version of Love Story: Berlin 1942 (1997)

Soundtrack:

Geburtstagswalzer

Brilliant, moving, erotic masterpiece

The setting is Berlin during the last days of World War II. Aimée and Jaguar are nicknames for two women. Jaguar, or Felice Schragenheim, is played by Maria Schrader, a painfully slender, winsome, enigmatic, and devastatingly beautiful actress whose character rolls through this story like a loose cannon. She is well matched by Aimée, or Lilly Wust, played by Juliane Köhler, attractive but older, by turns lustful and distraught.

To survive in difficult times, young Felice poses for nude photos, works in a newspaper office, and gives dance lessons. Lilly is a housewife, mother of four small children, and her husband is at the eastern front. She entertains single men while her children go to the zoo "again?" Felice conceives a passion for Lilly from afar and writes her a romantic letter, signed "Jaguar."

I don't want to spoil the story, so I will say no more about it. This is a frankly sexy, exceedingly passionate movie based on a true story. The acting is spectacular, the recreation of time and place is convincing enough, and the music and photography are exemplary. In German with English subtitles. Highest recommendation.

In a few scenes, especially during the first hour, I had the impression that I was getting the text of what was being said, but was missing the subtext--i.e., what was really going on. I plan to watch it again before sending it back to Netflix, something I've not done previously (though I came close with High Noon). If you suspect that I conceived a passion for Felice from afar, you'd be right; you might, too, if you see this movie. But see it also because it's simply excellent from beginning to end.

Alan Nicoll