Maries Lied (1994) User Reviews

Beautiful but lacks substance

[madahab · 6/10 · 16 November 2021]

It was by pure accident that I stumbled upon and the trailer piqued my interest. This is a strange film that is going to lose many viewers inside of thirty minutes. There is not not much of a plot and apart from the main character I had no idea what the names of the other characters were. It is very light on dialogue and the story is told visually. The basic premise is fairly simple and is not difficult to follow despite the lack of any expository dialogue. Perhaps a little Barry Lyndon style voiceover narration might have helped engage us in the time period the story occurs. It is visually stunning and has a very dreamlike quality. I was lost as to who was in relation with the other characters. It was a frustrating viewing but it does quite a good job at capturing the era (whenever it was), with good costumes, beautiful locations. It made me wanting more from the story. I would have bumped it up another star had it just give us a little information. Perhaps I will like it better on a second viewing. I was never bored and the actress playing the titular character has a very appealing charm. There are two scenes that are a bit disturbing, one involving a very young girl, but neither explicit and only hint at the actions.

Beautiful looking film that lacks an emotional punch

[stevelivesey-37183 · 6/10 · 12 April 2024]

The title says it all in a nutshell. There is no dialogue to speak of. It exists in the world of show don't tell. As a results, it's a bit slow for some tastes.

The drama comes from what is shown and not from dialogue. The action is quite sparse.

I must give the plaudits to the lovely, lighting, photography and cinematography triumvirate, that do seem to be on the money here. It looks ravishing.

The actings is actually rather good and the direction creates an atmosphere. I never once felt bored watching it.

Overall, recommended, as long you like truly beautiful movies like, Heavens Gate, The Fall or Days of Heaven.

Dreamlike tale from the 19th century

[kleiner_fuchs · 18 August 2003]

A strange, poetic little film that benefits from a great cast and beautiful cinematography. There are some ravishing moments in the film that alone make it worth watching, for example when Marie bothers her governess rollerskating back and forth before her chamber or when she puts a frog on her naked belly. I was reminded of the films of Jean Rollin (especially "Fascination", that in a similar way explores the magic of a lonely chateau) and Walerian Borowczyk (although he is much more extreme when it comes to naughty detail). I would say there is only one major flaw in the production: The director chose to let the people in the film talk as little as possible. Artistically, this may have been an interesting and daring decision, but unfortunately it seems to have been a wrong decision: It makes the narrative a bit tedious and takes away the life - no one really can believe that the people of the 19th century communicated nearly completely without words. Still, it's a very beautiful film that didn't get the attention it deserved.