Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous movie.

This is also one of the handful of moments when I actually like being German, because it's really easy to get here and they show it on TV a lot.

Sad news... According to her IMDB.com page, Lilly Wust allegedly died on April 15, 2006.

It's oddly serendipitous that I stumbled upon this thread tonight since I just watched Aimee and Jaguar last night so I can write a review of it for my Women's history class on the portrayal of women in a "historical" film. I all but jumped out of my chair to ask the prof if she minded if I reviewed A&J... she was all for it but had never heard of it... She's missing out!

I first became aware of this movie when I saw it being reviewed on Roger Ebert's show and was intrigued that it was about lesbians in WWII germany. That's all I knew... but it is a really fantastic film. And after renting it and watching it multiple times I went out and bought the DVD... so maybe I'm a little obsessed with the movie

The movie has so many things that make it great. The colours are rich, the period costumes beautiful and the actors are incredible (especially Maria Schrader aka Felice aka Jaguar who was a relative unknown when she got cast to do this).

The story is definitely an intruiguing one and the fact that it actually happened in heartbreaking. It was very interesting to see the "other side" of war: that is, the civilians left living in a war torn country who suffer as much as the soldiers out at the front. And also it debunks, as someone said, how a lot of people lump all Germans into the "Nazi" category which is simply not true and really, a lot of "Nazis" just followed the crowd so to speak (as Lily did) and then knowing an outsider and others that could be condemned changed her views drastically.

And really, I have to say that this is possibly the most frank depiction of a first time sex scene I've ever seen in a film. It's nerveracking, and I always get tight in the chest when I watch it... Felice actually asks Lily if she feels safe and if she wants her to stop! It's fumbling, it's sweet... I just love it... my favourite sex scene in a movie not because it's hot per se ( it is... lol) but because you care about the characters and it's not just sex... it matters.

Insofar as the depictions of the characters, I agree with you SER that their relationship is not perfect and that makes it so much more real and you care so much more. It's not over-the-top sappy in the least. And when Lily screams towards the end... man.... heartstings pulled and tears flow.

^^

I've been wanting to get my hands on the book by Fischer... I kept putting off ordering it and now I think it's out of print
It would be really amazing to read and see how much of the story they changed for dramatic film purposes and how much of it actually happened.

The DVD has a lot of info on Lily... she was given an award for hiding a number of jewish people in her home after Felice was taken away... one of her sons converted to Judaism... she did marry another man for a year out of "panic"... And honestly, I'd like to see how that first sex scene is portrayed in the book and if it captures as much of the first time tenderness as the movie... I'm so happy someone agrees with me on that one Conceptual!!

And, as far as I know, she is still alive... though I'm not sure her death would garner national attention that I would know about it (unfortunately).

thx for all the comments.
beside the fact that aimée & jaguar is a wonderful movie, it helps foreign ppl to understand the germans. not everybody was into the Nazi sh**, lotsa ppl were killed for their resistence. it happens a lot that we're attacked for being german. although it happend nearly 60 years ago.
i'm glad that such a movie has fans along your overseas as well.

I just got the book last week... so far it's pretty interesting... I'm in the chapter where they're talking about Felice's childhood and how much her life changed once the Nazi's came into power. It seems like the movie focused a lot on the lesbian relationship and the book is focusing more on the Felice's and Lily's lives in general, which is good since yes, people are more than who they sleep with!
I'll write up a little review when I manage to finish the book (which may take me a while with all the piles of other reading I have to do!)

Play.Com UK have the DVD and the book- the DVD is £14.99 and the book (temporarily out of stock) is £5.99. Play don't charge for delivery and they ship to Denmark
The DVD|The Book

Roni, the book is not out of print, you can find it on amazon.de/com.

In the book, you'll find a few passages about Lily's childhood & adolescence , how she was different from other girls. I've found that Maria Schrader was very convincing as Felice, at times she gave me the impression to be even more daring than the real one.

BEST. FILM. EVER!

Hands down.

I honestly don't know why I never rented this movie before. I just finished it earlier and, honestly, I was really taken aback. I tend to not expect much of lesbian movies because, well, I find most really aren't worth seeing. This movie was stunning.

I'm having trouble deciding if it, or High Art, is my favorite. And well, I am very bias when it comes to Ally Sheedy. :D

Anyway, wonderful wonderful movie and it is a 'must see' lesbian film. The first sex scene between them was just indescribable. Definitely the best of any lesbian movie I have seen. It completely encompassed the fear, love, desire and all of the emotions.

Even better is that this is a true story. It sat and made me think on how so very difficult it has been, throughout history, for women to love each other as lesbians.

I'm personally on the Aimee and Jaguar side.

...

********Spoilers*********

The scenes that made me realize that I totally loved the film were one of the first ones when Ilse and Felice are talking and Felice says it's her own god damn right to live free as long as she can. Also the scene when Felice finally admits that she's Jewish. Heartbreaking. The soundtrack kicks ass.

Like Roni said above, the sex scene in Aimee & Jaguar MATTERS- that's what makes it so great. I will never forget the first time I saw this movie, on a large-screen cinema in my University's weekly movie series, and my heart just about burst out of my chest, it was pounding so hard. Such an unbelievably amazing movie.

For those who've seen the movie, have you read the book of the same name by journalist Erica Fischer?

Also, anyone know if Lily Wust is still alive today?

I own a UK-released DVD, but the quality of video and audio is quite poor, not mentioning the lack of special features.
How is the R1 DVD, regarding the video and audio? I'll consider to buy the R1 one if it is better.

I SAW THIS! I SAW THIS! I cried and cried and then cried some more!!!! :cry:

It was an amazing movie! The actresses were really engaging and the story was 8O I can't believe the ending. Felice was so scared that Lily would hate her if she knew but then realized the love was stronger than anything and then when they were finally happy and free ...

ARGH!!!!!!!

Broke my little heart in a bajillion pieces but I loved it. It goes to show that all that matters in this life is being with the person you love. Today/tomorrow, we could all be gone. :(

On a really shallow not, DAMN WERE THOSE SEX SCENES HOT!!! :blush:

I watched a documentary on TV a few months ago & it was basically an hour long interview with Lily Wust & her youngest son. She was just talking about the whole relationship & showing photos & sharing memories, it was really nice. The film was almost word for word what Lily described, so very accurate. I only watched the actual film for the 1st time last night, so I saw the documentary first. Both fantastic, a wonderful love story.

My girlfriend bought me the DVD of this film for my birthday, she liked it more than I did but I still thought it was good, very sad :(

I've never saw the movie, but the book is really great. One of my favorites..there's so much emotion, truth and reality in it.

I love this film, for many reasons. I liked the historical background, especially since it was a perspective on WW2/the Holocaust I hadn't seen before; it made me think about the lives of civilians in Germany during the war; it shows some several kinds of social outsiders (Jews, socialists, lesbians)living at great risk and the ways they do and don't work together; it's an emotionally powerful, well-written, and well-filmed story; and both of the women are really hot. (Felice! Lily! Mmmmm...)

But most of all I love it because it shows a relationship that isn't perfect, but is very real and honest and charged with sexual heat. Both of the women are complex characters, and their interaction is incredibly complicated. This is what real people are like; they fall in love and lust and betray each other and bicker and grow. Most films (at least most American films) tend to sugarcoat relationships, or present their problems in cartoonish ways. This is especially true of a lot of woman-to-woman flicks. But the love story in Aimee and Jaguar felt not only beautiful and tragic but uncomfortably real.

Incidentally, I went to see Nirgendwo in Afrika/Nowhere in Africa (Jewish German family flee the Nazis by moving to Kenya and starting a new life) in large part because it starred Juliane Kohler (Lily in A&J), and that showed a similar complicated, flawed but enduring relationship--this time the marriage between JK's Jettel and her husband. I'm a bit tired of films focused on white people in Africa (can we see a film about black Africans, please?), but the acting was superb.

Best,
Sarah

I agree with all of you that Aimee and Jaguar was a beautiful movie in its historical setting, but what kept me watching was the story that they set up and how it wasn't just taken along with the gloominess of WWII. The story of the two women who fall in love was a bright and happy thing while the rest of the world was crumbling around them. I also enjoyed seeing a Jewish lesbian because I personally haven't seen many of those in many of the films.

A&J is an exquisite movie in every way. The performances by all of the cast, especially by both lead actresses is fantastic and memorable. The photography (texture, color, light) of the movie is simply wonderful and rich. The sets and wardrobe are so detailed that they give you an amazing feeling of authenticity and ambience, it's like you are watching the real thing.

As for the story, I agree that it gives you a perspective of the WW2 that we hadn't seen before, which is always great.

And obviously the love between the two characters in itself is beautiful, insightful, tragic and uplifting at the same time. The interaction between them is truly amazing and realistic...and I always cry like a baby when I watch this, It's a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful must see movie!!

SER thanks for the review, this is one of the
movies that I have in my Nextflix queue.
Can't wait to watch it...

Give me a break! I am thrilled that so many of you like this movie. It's only a small German production and I was overwhelmed that it is known outside of Germany as well.
What do you feel while watching the movie? Is it the lesbian content you're most interested in? I'm always deeply touched by the historical background since I am a German girl and can't get out of the 2nd WW thing...

I loved the movie> I went to the first showing of it in Utah and met the author and the director. It was a very good movie. I especially liked it because it was around a time I wasn't in and the fact that it was a greman production. The background was great as well.The story itself is one that tells me we are not alone. Those were brave women then and I am proud of them.

Hiya,

have been reading a lot about this movie on the net and would looove to get my hands on it or at least some clips or the book.

Have been on amazon.co.uk but them english seem to want to prevent my from ordering anything. The other stores are just way to expensive. I haven't found the movie on danish dvdsites either (live in Denmark)

please please can you help me. I'll appreciate it.