Customer Reviews

Fraulein

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is far and above the absolute best Film Movements film in the series. I haven't seen or heard a film this well done in a very long time. Buy or rent this film.

The opening scene sets the tone of this film. We see a man pruning trees. The only sound we hear is the sound of his saw cutting the thin young branches. The last sound we hear is the click of a branch breaking off, but don't see that branch break. The scene is very gray, overcast sky, and in the winter. It is a metaphor for the rest of the film.

So many films start with a particular style, something different. It catches your eye or your ears or your mind. About 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through they lose that style and return to the same old melodrama we've all seen before. Not this film. That sound, the sparse clear perfectly recorded sound works throughout this film. The gray skies, the fabulous framing, the perfect editing, those play all the way to the end of Fraulein. There was a unique style all the way to the end of the film.

This is the story of two women. Ana has left Sarejvo after the war. Ruza is the owner of a very gray working man's restaurant (cafeteria would be more like it). The two meet in Ruza's, aptly named simply "Restaurant."

This is a part of Zurich no tourist has ever seen. It overlooks the city we all know along the lake. This is the working area of Zurich. If I were to describe more of this film, it would ruin the discovery process essential to the story line and enjoyment.

I don't want to oversell this film. It's a remarkable small film that was done on a very low budget. It demonstrates that fantastic stories and an amazing film style do not require millions of dollars to film. I was astounded by the clarity of sound, and how it was almost another character. I was surprised by the wonderful perfomances of these two women. I felt like I got to know them both well. And was amazed at the camera work and framing.

If you're familiar with the Film Movement series, you will love this film. If not, then this might just be the introduction you need to start watching very fine new cinema from around the world.

By the way - Happiness, the short that accompanies Fraulein, is the best one they have ever bundled. It's about an older woman that is a quality control inspector at a condom factory.

If you truly want to experience films that accurately depict other cultures, then you should start getting some Film Movements movies. These are independent movies that describe dysfunctions from around the world with very fine sensibilities. This film shows us two women whose lives cross paths. One is Serbian woman, Ruza (Rose) who immigrated to Western Europe 25 years ago while the other is 22 year old Bosnian girl Ana who has recently left war torn Sarajevo. Ana is damaged by years of war, her brother's suicide and her own restlessness. We never really learn her true motives for leaving Sarajevo. Ruza on the other hand has been living a quiet life, somewhat boring and predictable. She has lover who she hides from the general public because she knows deeply that he is not a right person for her. But she is so busy working in her restaurant that the life outside of that world really no longer exist for her. Ana on the other hand is homeless. She finds a place to sleep and take shower after her nightly escapades to a disco club. There, she is picked up by men she never met before and she follows them to their apartments where she has sex with them, but also clens up, eats a little and finds enough strength for another day. Although very dfferent in their age and temperament, these two women deeply influence each other's life. I have enjoyed seevral moments in the film. One is where elderly (Croatian) coupel is watching a TV show and husband makes a very dumb guess on the quiz question if for no other reason than for the reason that saying nothing seems stupid to him. The other gives you a sense for proportion. Same woman's husband steals her cash stash from her cash hiding place. She has been saving that money for a new coat for herself. He, on the other hand wants to use that money to pay for a new roof for the dream retirement home they are building in Croatia. That incident as humiliating to a wife who works hard in the restaurant kitchen while her husband sits home all day watching TV pretending to be disabled (his foot is hurt), gives us some insight on how different standard of living is in West vs. East Europe. Same amount of money can buy one coat in one place and build a roof in the other. Multi layered story, definitely not not be missed.

Mirjana Karanovic gives a stellar performance in "Das Fraulein." Actually every actor is superb and although this story leaves much to the imagination, as a lover of simplicity, I adore this character driven film. Every frame is intentional, each action is necessary, there is not a thing wasted in this low budget production which surpasses many films that cost ten times its budget. The audio effects were expertly done, including even the background movement of cars in a parking lot. From a production standpoint, this was a ten. In less than an hour and a half, we learned how humans share their lives with only a few words spoken relying on their gestures and actions to propel the story. Where Woody Allen's characters erupt in verbose thoughts, these characters internalize, reminiscent of New Wave films. As an example, rather than carry on about a woman watching her life go down the drain, we see her watch the sudsy water flow from the sink. What could be a morose story becomes uplifting and I'm going to watch this again.

The movie 'Fraulein' put the tears in my eyes. I gave 5 stars because of the fact that this story can touch and move many immigrants and souls who immigrated to work hard for the better living including my self (Serbian immigrant to the uSA for some time now)...It is interesting that you can conclude after watching this film, that we all are unique souls with different needs and our time for all of us, is running out... for some sooner then for others ...Some have money but the best times of their life went by so fast. Their youth and happiness are gone and some have youth and happiness but no money or health to keep on going as the rest of them ...If you speak German and or Serbian/Croatian Languages you can understand with out the English subtitles (because mine did not work on my DVD player). This movie can touch any soul who can feel the nature of the hard working people, humble but with the basic needs. 'Fraulein' - also has nice group of the talented actors who , with their performance, could make you understand the message of the story and the human life with out any translations (my boyfriend is American and was able to enjoy this wonderful movie even with out subtitles). Nice move for anyone to see and for the better understanding of the average hard working people and the blue color workers and immigrants of the three generations. Thank you. M.

really enjoyed this movie. superb work by all involved. Mirjana Karanovic gives a great performance

This is an excellent film. Great acting, writing, sets, and story line. I enjoyed everything about it, and really like visiting other cultures and countries through indie films. Especially enjoy films that make a point in a little over an hour. Wonderful movie!

How many Swiss movies have you seen?
Yeah...exactly!

If you only see one, make sure this is the one. Great indie film from Swiss director Andrea Staka sees two-women - a settled immigrant Ruza who owns a cafe in Zurich and Ana, her new employee, bursting with energy and new ideas. First Ana's impulsiveness is received coldly, but after a while women develop a strong relations and we get to find out deeper secrets lying behind Ana's seemingly cloudless existence.

A powerful and emotional character study.

The Swiss director Andrea Staka (b. 1973) explores the power of place through the lives of three women living in Zurich in her film that has won several awards. The three women would seem to have very little in common except their motherland. Ruza is a Serbian who left Belgrade twenty-five years ago by choice. She had it good, but wanted better. She succeeded by opening a small cafeteria in Zurich, but inwardly she is more dour than the Swiss weather. Her employee Mila is a Croatian who wants to return to the motherland when she retires, but is deeply ambivalent because her children have settled in Switzerland. Into their boring cafeteria lives enters Ana, a twenty-two year old Bosnian from war-torn Sarajevo who epitomizes joie de vivre despite her own secrets that would make you guess otherwise. How these women relate to each other, and the choices they make about what used to be Yugoslavia, drive the plot of this film. In German, Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, with English sub-titles.

My wife and I just finished watching this movie, and we can't even believe that it was the same film that the other reviewers left such high ratings and glowing reviews for. Without giving away any of the story, all I can say is that while perhaps the acting was good and the production was well done, the movie was boring straight through. I kept waiting for it to go somewhere, entertain, compel or shock, and alas, it did none of those things for me. I can't quite say that any one thing about the movie was bad, but overall, it didn't entertain me or move me. I am an avid fan of movies of all kinds, and this is easily one of perhaps the 20 most boring movies I've ever seen in my life, not that I keep such a list, but if I did, this would be one it. Part of me feels guilty for leaving this bad review for this film that so many people seemed to love and praise. That being said, I would have much appreciated a candid review such as this one, had it been there two hours ago, thus sparing me the time wasted and boredom endured from watching this film. To be fair, I do understand that when it comes to artful films like this, especially, high quality works of art are not created for all to enjoy, but rather for some people to enjoy and not others. If everyone loved this movie, then maybe it wouldn't be so 'artful' but rather more mainstream. Maybe it just went over my head.

I don't know why I was drawn to this little film. I was looking for something entertaining and just stumbled on it. The title, FRAULEIN, interested me, as I had spent several years in Germany in my youth and was curious because of the German/Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian subtitles. (I was hoping I'd recall what little German I learned while I was there.) But, as soon as this picture started, I was drawn into it. It was both hopeful and heartbreaking. And I especially liked the character of Ana (Marija Skaricic) from Sarajevo, who brought her plain beauty, youth, and energy into the lives of the two older women she met and befriended: Ruza (Marjiana Karanovic), the cold, joyless Serbian owner of a Swiss canteen, who hires Ana to do menial tasks and, at first, resists Ana's attempts to turn the workplace into a bright and welcoming stop for people going to and coming from their humdrum jobs, as well as the dishwashers, cooks, and busboys who work there; and Mila,(a Croatian) who isn't all that sure if she wants to leave Switzerland and her grown children and return to Croatia with her retired husband to build his dream house. That is, until they both learn more about the life-loving Ana. Ana..., for all her youthful energy and passion, has a secret that she keeps deep within her that causes her to live life to the fullest and bring hope for the future to the two women she emotionally touches.

OK...I haven't really said anything to spoil this film for anyone who might want to take a chance and watch it. I just wanted to say that FRAULEIN isn't really just an Eastern European Chick-flick. It's a deeply moving story about 3 women who survived a terrible civil war and learned to live again. 5 Stars