spoiler spoiler this be without a doubt the best film rainer werner fassbinder ever make and even with the marvelous script the film be enhance by a great performance by hanna schygulla . film start out with maria ( schygulla ) and hermann braun ( klaus lowitsch ) just get marry a the bomb continue to fall and hermann be ship out towards the waning day of the war and now maria and her mother and sister must scrape by to survive . maria decide to get a job a a dancer or prostitute in a club that cater to american gi and she meet a black army soldier name bill ( greg eagle ) and they start to see one another on a steady basis . maria hear that her husband hermann have die in the war so she get very serious with bill . but one day while get intimate with bill they see hermann at the door . he hasn not die and when he enter the room a scuffle occurs and maria break a bottle over bill head and he die . hermann take the blame and he be sentence to a long term in jail so maria tell him that she will succeed at something and get him out . the war have end and germany must rebuild and one day on a train maria meet karl oswald ( ivan desny ) who be a successful businessman in textile and she use her charm to get a job . maria be determine to do well and climb the corporate ladder and become karl mistress . she tell him that she will never marry him but he be in love with her . hermann get out of jail but go to canada to try and get over everything that maria have do since he have be lock up . spoiler alertone day karl dy and leave maria just about everything in his will and maria buy her own house . then hermann finally come home to his wife and they be both ready to start theyre marriage even though they have be marry for some time now . but maria leave the gas on the stove and the house explode with both of them still in it . there be so many interesting thing in this film that it one of those movie that can be study and talk about to great length . like in all fassbinder film the use of color be use in a very interesting way . a the film begin the tone be brown and gray to represent war tear germany but a maria start to become successful they change to bright rich color like red and white . the rebuilding of germany with all the sound of construction be use a only backdrop and the film stay focus on the exploit of maria . fassbinder do want the sound of rebuild to remind u of what be go on in germany at that time . hanna schygulla be never good and her performance be the key to the success of this film . with a less actress this would have be just another interesting film but schygulla be so strong that her performance elevate this film to an elite status . schygulla show maria a very determined and smart but at the same time she use her beauty and femininity to get what she want . she not embarrass nor do she feel guilty about this and fassbinder want to show maria a a woman who practically sell her soul to survive . schygulla wasn not nominate for an academy award but she give a great performance that will stand the test of time . fassbinder himself appear in the film a a peddler and his own mother lilo pempeit play frau ehmke . i have hear many thing about the end of the film and it have to do with whether maria purposely leave the gas on . later in the bathroom she be run water over her wrist and she appear to be sad . this be only speculation and if you think i be wrong please e mail me . i think she be overly excite by hermann be home and leave it on by accident ( remember her put on a dress for no reason . ) . then when the will be be read to her it at that point that she learn that hermann and karl have become friendly without her knowledge and i think she felt that everything she have do be for nothing . thats the reason for the bathroom scene . so when the house explode it by accident . but i think the reason for fassbinder have an end like that be to show that anyone who would sell their soul have no business living . fassbinder be fascinate by survivor but he be also incredibly passionate . in his view maria can not have it both way . a fascinating film .