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82 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I LOVED it, but is it enough for the general public?, June 20, 2002
I've been familiar with the story of Aimee and Jaguar for a few years now, yet I've just been able to watch this film on DVD. Unfortunately, after two years of anticipation, I was slightly disappointed.Don't get me wrong--I thought this movie was beautiful, poignant, and suberbly acted. However, I read the book. I feel I knew Lilly better--I knew all along she wasn't the insulated, flaky, unstable housefrau portrayed in this film. I watched the first minutes of this film, with Lilly's sorrowful sexual neediness on display, and I couldn't help but wonder if the general public will realize (before they hate her) that this woman's sexual neediness is rooted in her repressed lesbianism, not in the long absenses of her Nazi husband. Felice was given a sexy Marlene Dietrich flair (wonderfully portrayed by Maria Schrader), but her underground activities should have been emphasized more. I know people who sat through this entire film not realizing that Felice was not only Jewish, but very active in the resistance movement. I think that would have boosted the plot a little, and added to the dynamic of the relationship. That way, after Lilly came out to her husband and declared to Felice and her friends "I'm one of you now", the cold reaction would have been more understandable. Instead, this scene makes Felice look cold and uncaring. To make matters worse, it's never clear if Felice's friends are also Jewish, or just lesbians. Felice's character could have been so rich. Indeed, some of the most emotionally raw scenes in the film involve her secret identity--most notable the scene in which, as a secretary at a Nazi newspaper, she is forced to take dictation for a scathing anti-semetic editorial. While there's some hint that Felice and her group of girlfriends are trying to get papers and arrange to leave Germany, it's not quite emphasized enough that Felice's affair with Lilly seriously impedes that process. The scenes when Lilly and Felice come together (and become AIMEE & JAGUAR)are not disappointing. Their kind of passionate, we-could-die-tomorrow desire is enough to melt any audience member. Lilly's insistance that this relationship defined her life--was indeed what she had been searching for--begs the audiences's forgivness for her borderline bipolar state. I'm sure she is forgiven. If nothing else, this film captures the horror of wartime Berlin as vividly as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN captures Normandy. The bombing raids are filmed against stunning, dramatic red skies and amid the flashes of anti-aircraft fire. Viewers get a good sense of Berlin as a city stubbornly soldiering on in this midst of all this horror. Lesbian romance or not, this film is unrivaled in its realistic portrayal of Berlin in this period. The smallest details--from the costumes to the curtains--contribute to this mastery. Unfortunately, the cinematic mastery of this film is not enough to save the vague plot. For instance, why does Ilse narrate the film? Her character remains on the periphery thought, and she belongs there. Her injected voice leads to confusion about her overall relevance. I actively tried to get swept away in this film, because I believe the storyline is history that can't be told enough, but I too often found myself substituting my prior knowledge for the film's narrative ambiguities. I could easily give this film 5 stars because I feel I have the whole picture, but I fear it will leave most viewers (who haven't read the book) without a clue. True, the DVD has sufficient background information, but that is irrelevant. The film should have, could have, stood alone. And it does not.
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DVD ~ Hélène Fillières
DVD ~ Rachael Stirling
DVD ~ Elaine Cassidy
DVD ~ Henry Czerny
DVD ~ Ben Becker
