I love films about the relationships women have with one another. The sheer willingness to do anything for another woman, and the strength that comes through in knowing you have an unbreakable bond guided linked through a connection of soul. Sisterhood, the very words mean a close relationship among women based on shared experiences, concerns, beliefs. That definition opens up the doors to experiences of women both far and wide, and on the basis of activism, within feminism, sisterhood means a lot. A connection through a struggle and a constant push and pull to unravel oppression. For Marianne and Juliane their sisterhood is through blood and through activism.
Her empathy in showing power of sisterhood through ongoing support. The recurring image of Marianne and Juliane is one of sisters embracing when they need it. When Marianne goes to jail for terrorist activities related to her feminism her sister supports her without any hesitation. She'll put her hand up to glass dividing them as they discuss her sentence, and make a joke about how her sisters hands feel cold, relieving the tension of her stressful situation. In a flashback sequence both sisters meet up in the girls bathroom of their school to shed tears over the Holocaust footage, that was shown in class, knowing their people did this. Their activism is born in this moment, but it also shows Von Trotta's humanity towards the girls as they know they must never allow this to happen again, but through it all they would have each others support. Another moment of sisterly interaction has both women swapping hoodies after Marianne visits her in prison for the first time, and Juliane needing something warmer. This act of giving what was on her back to her sister is emblematic of their relationship. They would do anything for one another at all times. It's a simple moment, but speaks to a larger loving relationship between the two, and Von Trotta's ability to get across meaning through feminist imagery is essentially what makes Marianne and Julianne such a striking film on feminism.
Marianne and Julianne's feminism is equally represented through simplistic, raw, but nonetheless effective imagery that she also gave to their sisterly relationship. Von Trotta doesn't sugar-coat that Marianne's death is a rough time for Julianne, and by showing Marianne's broken body for what it is, the tragedy of the scene overflows. Julianne's grief is also delivered in a similar manner with consistent close-ups of weeping, moaning and sorrow. The scenes between the two sisters early on code the grief of the picture as something significant, but the acting of Jutte Lampe is something else entirely, tapping into deep levels of emotion. Von Trotta is wonderfully laid back in these moments, and let's Lampe act out her breakdown, and this creates another lasting image. That's the lasting effect of her camera. She shows no inclinations towards breaking the scene, but she knows how to get across the message she intended to by simply showing and not overdoing. There's simply no need to shoot something differently when a close-up of a face gets across everything you'd need to know about the pain of the scene.
This film portrays feminism perfectly throughout the story. It has laughter, crying and love shown with every scene given and acted. Von Trotta really knows how to show the power of sisterhood.
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