Maria's Lovers (1984)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Andrei Konchalovsky

Writers:

Gérard Brach (screenplay) &
Andrei Konchalovsky (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

January 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

They all loved her... too much.

Plot Keywords:

Post Traumatic Syndrome | Jealousy | Adultery | Stockings | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Nastassja Kinski	...	Maria Bosic
John Savage	...	Ivan Bibic
Robert Mitchum	...	Ivan's Father
Keith Carradine	...	Clarence Butts
Anita Morris	...	Mrs. Wynic
Bud Cort	...	Harvey
Karen Young	...	Rosie
Tracy Nelson	...	Joanie
John Goodman	...	Frank
Danton Stone	...	Joe
Vincent Spano	...	Al Griselli
Lela Ivev	...	Anna
Yelena Koreneva	...	Vera (as Elena Koreneva)
Anton Sipos	...	Peter
Larry John Meyers	...	Foreman

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Serbo-Croatian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brownsville, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Cannon Group

Movie Connections:

Version of Odinokiy golos cheloveka (1987)

Soundtrack:

Maria's Eyes

A signature Nastassja Kinski film.

Set in the immediate post World War II in the small rural picturesque American town of Brownsville, Pennsylvania among Yugoslavian immigrants, `Maria's Lovers' follows a young soldier with the name of Ivan Bibec, played by John Savage, who has been discharged from the Army, into his home town. The film seems to unfold slowly upon first viewing, but that is misleading because it has been very tightly edited and one can only pick up some of the nuances of the film by watching it a second and/or a third time. Nastassja Kinski is Maria Bosic and is the central character in the film. The supporting cast is first rate with Anita Morris, Robert Mitchum and Keith Carradine. The film has a European feel to it because of the direction of Andrei Konchalovsky, meaning that it is sparse and compact, yet exquisitely framed. Early on, Ivan marries his sweetheart, Maria, and the rest of the film deals with love and infidelity and how it impacts the two main characters and their marriage.

1984 found Nastassja Kinski in four film releases: `Unfaithfully Yours' a nice light comedy, `The Hotel New Hampshire' (a Nastassja disaster in which she initially appears in a bear costume and is so happy to escape it that she does one cartwheel at the end of the film), the Wim Wenders' legendary `Paris, Texas' in which she appears in the last part of the film, and then there was `Maria's Lovers' in which she was the featured and marquee performer. In `Maria's Lovers,' Nastassja has to carry the film in a very difficult role that would stretch any actress's abilities and skills. Of the forty plus Nastassja movies that I have seen, this is probably her best role and performance. Nastassja's Maria is textured and rich with innocence, shyness, passion, vulnerability, and character strength. If anything, Nastassja Kinski is chameleon like because she so easily blends into the film and yet her character is quite distinctive with depth, dealing with the irrationalities of love, intimacy, and infidelity. In a sense, `Maria's Lovers' is an end point for Nastassja because she was finally able to integrate everything into one performance. There is little question that Nastassja Kinski is foremost a dramatic actress of unparalleled skills that can be subtle or dynamic or anything in between when on the screen. Coupled with her singular striking beauty and expressive eyes, she is a package that very few actresses can ever hope to equal. Nastassja intuitively knows how to move on screen, have the proper inflections in her voice, use her face and eyes as an ever changing canvas, project intelligence and sensuality, and be charismatic with great screen presence. This was nothing less than a superb performance.