Festival del film Locarno 2002
Meine Schwester Maria
CH 2002 90'
Director: Maximilian Schell
Script: Maximilian Schell
Production:: Dschoint Ventschr
Maria Schell a glamorous name, a dream career, a tragic fate. Her career represents a fascinating chapter in German and international film history with compelling episodes and encounters with famous artist colleagues.
Memories of global successes become faint: DIE RATTEN (THE RATS), WEISSE NÄCHTE (WHITE NIGHTS), DIE BRÜDER KARAMASOW (THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV). And then later the all too familiar pattern: The difficulties when a star used to success is forced to find a new role, when offers fail to materialize and the public's interest wanes; how does that often sought euphemism go: «with her [...] things have been somewhat quieter recently».
Then the breakdown in her private life, calls for help, alarm signals. «The first death» that's what Maria Schell calls her act of desperation from 1991.