"Aimee and Jaguar", the 1999 German film directed by Max Farberbock, is a film which does a superb job of portraying it's emotion. The ability for the audience to be able to feel the emotion is key for a film such as this. For one thing, the film is set during the very emotional time period of World War 2. Specifically, we see Berlin during World War 2, during the height of it's bombing raids. This, one would think, would be emotional enough. However this only acts as the backdrop of the real story of the film, which is about a lesbian love affair between a member of the Jewish underground movement and the wife of a Nazi officer. It is through various filmmaking techniques that we are able to sense the roller coaster of emotions that these 2 women must be going through.
For instance any scene that took place in one of the neighborhoods that fell victim to a bombing raid had a very atmospheric look to it.
Felices fiestas
Felices Pascuas
Architiello di San FeliceThese scenes seemed to be very gray and grainy. You could almost feel yourself breathing in the dust. These scenes just seemed to have a very hard look to them. I also noticed during these scenes that once in awhile the sounds of airplanes flying overhead could be heard. The filmmakers could have done this just to simply remind the audience of what was going on in the backdrop of this film. Even though the characters that were being viewed on screen had their own share of problems, it was nothing compared to the huge problem that the entire world was facing during this time period.
Also, the scenes that featured the actual bombing raids themselves had somewhat of a strange mood to them as well. When the airplanes were seen flying through the sky, the sky had a very red tint to it. In fact it was almost blood red. Red is a color that many people associate with death. This could have been done by the filmmakers as a subconscious way of letting the audience know just how high the casualties were during these bombing raids, since we the audience never actually see any bombing raid related deaths on screen.
We also saw good use of lighting used during a few scenes involving Felice (AKA Jaguar), played by Maria Schrader. Felice of course was the jewish lesbian, who was also a member of the underground movement. During the scenes where Felice was meeting with her fellow members of the underground movement, the lighting is somewhat dark. Felice seems to have shadows on her face during these scenes. This of course could have been done for a few reasons. For one, it could have been to give these scenes more of a shadowy, underground mood. It could have been done to give the audience a sense of the secrecy of these meetings. However, maybe it had a deeper meaning. Maybe the shadows were used to show the impending shadow of death that Felice had hanging over her. Anybody who would be crazy enough to take such risk as Felice did in Germany, especially during this time period, would almost certainly be killed by the Nazi's.
The lighting used for Lily (AKA Aimee), played by Juliane Kohler, changed over the course of the movie. In the beginning when we first meet Lily, she is the wife of a Nazi officer who seems to enjoy sleeping around. She is the mother of 4, and seems to be very strict, yet loving, with her children. The lighting used for Lily during this time is a very hard lighting. It doesn't really seem to do much to lighten up any of her features. She just seems to be a very average looking women.
However as the film moves on and Lily becomes embroiled in this lesbian relationship with Felice we notice a change in Lily. Not only in her life style, but in her appearance as well. The lighting seems much more flattering to her. It is a much more gentle lighting which seems to bring out more of Lily's better features. It could also be showing just how much happier Lily is with her current position in life. For once, she actually feels the happiness which she has longed for.
Felice's Omelet
Aimée & Jaguar