Aimee & Jaguar (1998)

Beautiful & Sad

I must admit that I avoided watching this movie for a very long time, just because of the hype surrounding it. Now, I wish I had not waited so long.
This film stays with you for days and days after you've watched it and makes you want to know more, much more. All about the characters, their thoughts, hopes and fears. It is easy to forget that these women were very young (in ther twenties) when this happened to them. Also, it is a movie, that makes you hold on a little bit tighter to your lovged one at night.
I highly recommend it. And the hype is right...
May 30, 2008

A moving story

Set in Berlin during 1943-4 and based on a true story, this unusual and moving film tells the story of bored repressed hausfrau Lilly Wust and her unexpected relationship with Felice Schragenheim, a Jewish woman involved in the underground and active in the local lesbian scene. Lilly's husband Günther is away on the Eastern front, and he seems to be a caring devoted husband, the way he visits her several times during the war, yet she doesn't seem to be finding fulfillment either as a wife to him (she has numerous affairs) or as a mother to her four sons (she's won the bronze order of the German Motherhood Cross for having produced this family). Through her babysitter Ilse, she meets Felice, who was going out with Ilse at the beginning of the story. As time goes on, she becomes more and more drawn into Felice's world of lesbianism, unknowing that her lover is also Jewish and in the underground, until finally her journey of self-discovery takes her out of the closet and she starts her affair with Felice, an affair the real-life Lilly considers the greatest love of her life. Felice is so hopelessly in love with Lilly that she several times turns down the chance to escape from Germany. It being set during wartime (the historical period, from the costumes to the air raids, is depicted absolutely stunningly), there are things and people at every turn threatening to derail their happy new home, but the women are so in love that nothing else matters. They had to live intensely, as though every day might be the last, in such circumstances. The final scene is incredibly moving.

As poignant, well-recreated, emotionally powerful, and masterfully-acted as I found the film, however, there were a couple of things that I felt could have made the story even better and stronger. Why, for example, is it being narrated by Ilse, who is only a secondary character? Wouldn't it make more sense to be narrated by Lilly? And as moving and convincing as the love between Lilly and Felice is after they finally get together (the scene of their first night together is esp. powerful and realistic), I just wish there had been a bit more development of it prior to their getting together in that way. What were their motivations for having pursued such a potentially dangerous relationship, particularly since hausfrau Lilly and partygirl Felice don't seem to have a whole lot in common personality-wise? At times it also didn't really seem clear just what Felice's involvement in the underground was, since there wasn't an extraordinary amount of detail to that aspect of the story. It also didn't seem extraordinarily clear as to whether Felice's three friends Ilse, Klara, and Lotte were Jewish as well as lesbian; at first it seemed as though they were both, but as the story wore on it didn't seem so clear. And for being set in wartime Berlin, there did seem to be a rather strange lack of dramatic tension, with everyone knowing that any moment the Gestapo or SS might arrest or kill them for anything and everything they were involved in. Having heard that the book on which it's based clears up a lot of these questions and goes into more detail, I can't wait to read it and get a better-rounded picture of the story. And admittedly, the overall film is so strong, moving, and poignant that those are minor issues that shouldn't detract from one's full enjoyment.

Bonus features are trailers, a mini-documentary, behind the scenes footage (without subtitles), photos of the real-life Felice and Lilly, primary documents (such as the marriage certificate the women wrote for themselves and poems written by Felice), information on what happened to the real-life Lilly and Felice, and interviews with cast and crew. November 5, 2007

Remarkable

One of the best movies I have ever seen!

- Set in Germany, During the war. Jaguar a young Jewish woman meets beautiful Aimee. Soon a love conspires between the two but leaving Jaguar desperate to flee the war. A secret kept hidden from Aimee turns into the unexpected.

I do not want to say anymore because I want the watcher to find out for himself what happens. But overall the movie is such an exhilarating one; the picture quality is great for it being a low budget film back in 1999. The acting is very well done! It's very believable - Sensual - Remarkable - And in many ways, Fun.

Please buy this film if you haven't seen it. You will not regret it! September 28, 2007

left a lasting impression

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. May 5, 2007

I'm Amazed

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. February 15, 2007

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