Maria's Lovers

Nasti KINSKI and all the lovers of Mary

At the beginning of the 1980s, German actress Nastassja KINSKI began her astonishing and wonderful rise to becoming a world-famous GOLDEN GLOBE winner (she received the trophy for her title role in TESS). In the years following this brilliant start to her career, she established herself as a busy actress in Hollywood, but had significantly less success at the box office than she had hoped. As a result, many of the films she made back then were all too quickly forgotten. When a then Soviet Russian director like Andrei KONTSCHALOWSKI made his very first Hollywood film with her in the lead role, it could only have gone wrong, as was often etched in the newspapers at the time. Not even close! MARIA's LOVERS from 1984 is an astonishing film that the German-French television station ARTE graciously made available to interested audiences again a few months ago.

At the beginning there are remarkable documentary recordings that director legend John HUSTON shot immediately after the Second World War. American soldiers clearly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder! After the First World War, such men were still called "war tremors". Just such a soldier is young Ivan Bibic (John SAVAGE), who wants nothing more than to marry his childhood sweetheart Maria (Nastassja KINSKI) after the end of the Second World War. Although she is still with the handsome Al Griselli (Vincent SPANO), she then marries Ivan, to whom she is genuinely fond. But that's just where the problems begin, because Ivan suffers from erectile dysfunction due to the mental stress during the war. It goes without saying that this is not good for the young marriage at all. One day a traveling folk singer (Keith CARRADINE) comes to the poor steelworker town...

KONTSCHALOWSKI dares to do something! As a film director from the Soviet Union, he dares to create a modern story about the Virgin Mary, which is supplemented by a very sensitive topic. There are not only attractive pictures of the beautiful Nastassja KINSKI to see. John SAVAGE in particular, who is best known from the exciting musical HAIR, had to film some intense scenes here. Some things make others ashamed, others - like the rat in the mouth - are really absolutely disgusting! But that makes this film something special, but one that you should consciously get involved with. This is not for the faint-hearted!

Other roles include the indestructible Robert MITCHUM, the sensual Anita MORRIS and the brilliant John GOODMAN. This remarkable film also had far-reaching consequences for the fabulous Nasti KINSKI. In real life, her actor colleague Vincent SPANO became the father of her first child.

What an underrated film!

Symbols: a chair in an open field that survives years, the lure of eyes of a woman/wife, and a bleeding, pregnant rat!

This is a film about love between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife--and how it lasts for ever.

This is also a film about a dying father and son, of a mute elderly mother and a daughter.

The chair, the eyes, and the rat are all essential to the film. The chair is repeatedly shown. Eyes are mentioned by Ivan's father about Ivan's dead mother. Eyes are essential to the song sung twice by Keith Carradine's character. Rats are symbolic of past, present and future of Ivan's sexual life.

Into the film, perceptive viewers could compare and contrast the two different reactions of Ivan when two Maria's lovers taunt him. Yet the film is more about Maria and less about Ivan.

Very Russian, very European, though the settings are American. The soul of Russian literary giants permeate through the film. A lovely shot towards the end is the silhouette of father (Mitchum) and son (Savage). You can get the feel of Tarkovsky's friend and colleague at work. It is sad the film has not been noticed/applauded better.

An excellent period piece set in post WWII small town Pennsylvania. This is an unvarnished look at working class life among the "ethnics" and sexual dysfunction. The production values are fantastic. This movie really captures what it was like then including a passing shot of a large coal burning locomotive. The interiors are drab and worn with peeling paint in some scenes. The directorial style is similar to that of Michael Cimino in The Deer Hunter and Heaven's Gate.

The producers probably wondered why the excellent script and performances didn't garner at least Oscar nominations. It was nominated as Best Foreign Film for the French Cesar award.

The film centers on Ivan (John Savage), a WWII P.O.W. who returns to his small hometown after the war. He survived in the P.O.W. camp by imagining a marriage and life with Maria (Nastassia Kinski), the prettiest girl he knew growing up. When he gets home, he woos and marries her, but cannot consummate the marriage. This naturally leads to dysfunction, frustration, and infidelity. Also starring Keith Carradine as a fast-talking, wandering balladeer, Robert Mitchum (with a beard) as Savage's father, Vincent Spano, Bud Cort, John Goodman, Bill Smitrovich, and Tracy Nelson.

The script is all over the place, with some scenes achieving some frank honesty and emotional truth, while others seem wildly florid and almost campily over-the-top. Savage's natural tendencies to be a bit histrionic in his performances works okay here, since his character is supposed to be a bit unbalanced and dealing with PTSD. Kinski delivers her most mature performance to date, but she's still a bit rough around the edges, and some lines come out clunky.

Carradine steals the movie, though, with an oily turn as a seedy Lothario. Mitchum just has to be gruff and drunk, which was never a problem for him. Anyone with prudish sensibilities should be forewarned that there's a lot of heavy breathing here, as well.

A World War II soldier (Savage) returns to marry his old lover (Kinski) but his inability to father a child leads to the destruction of their marriage. The couple goes through a series of tribulations before coming together again. Savage gives a so-so performance as the tormented husband who loses the will to commit to the sanctity of the marriage bond. Kinski gives her most versatile and inspired performance ever as the anguished wife. If anything, watch her. The director, Andrei Konchalovsky, is actually Russian. The movie is a pastiche of styles from American and European film-making. Strong powerful storytelling through the chronology of time tinged with the emotional pathos that is typical of most European films. In the end, the mix is a bit jagged and mismatched, but this doesn't stray from an otherwise strong and moving movie.