Aimee and Jaguar
by Max F?rberb?ck
List Price:
Our Price: $16.89
You Save: $13.06 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $13.49 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Elisabeth Degen, Heike Makatsch, Johanna Wokalek, Juliane K?hler, Maria SchraderDirector: Max F?rberb?ck
Writer: Max F?rberb?ck
Producer: Feliks Pastusiak
Producer: Gerhard von Halem
Producer: G?nter Rohrbach
Producer: Hanno Huth
Producer: Lew Rywin
Writer: Rona Munro
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: German (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 125 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-10-30
Studio: Zeitgeist Films
DVD Reviews of Aimee and Jaguar
DVD Review: Compelling, Extraordinary and Heart Wrenching
Summary: 5 Stars
Although not having read the book, I now intend to, as this movie is now my favorite true love story. It has sentimental meaning, phenonmenally touching, and inspirational in it's beautiful, poignant story. These women, soul mates, in their tragic, complicated and passionate romance leave the viewer in awe. The cinematography is fabulous, and the story unforgettably mesmerizing...absolutely fantastic!!!!DVD Review: A Senstive Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
"Aimee and Jaguar"
A Sensitive Masterpiece
Amos Lassen
Set in Berlin in 1943/44, "Aimee and Jaguar" tells the story of Felice (Maria Schrader), an intelligent and courageous Jewish woman who, because of the times, lives under a false name, and is a member of an underground organization. We also meet Lilly (Juliane Kohler), a mother of four, who is desperate for love. The two women fall in love amid the bombing raids and face the constant danger of persecution. The Gestapo is looking for Felice but she decides that rather than escape, she will sit out the war with Lilly. The women adapt the nicknames of Aimee and Jaguar, and we are with them in the saddest period of the history of the world.
The movie is sexy and passionate and it is based on true events. Aside from the frankness of the relationship of the two women we have the frankness of the portrayal of Berliners attempting to lead normal lives while their world is falling all around them. The acting here is exceptional and it is full of integrity and intensity. Every element of the film is near perfect--the script, the sets, the acting, the camerawork. This is an intense and moving experience that perfectly portrays a lesbian love experience and shows that it is as valid as a heterosexual experience.
We now believe that the real Felice died in a concentration camp and when the film was released in 1999, Lilly was 86 and still lived in Berlin.
The film also shows us the nightlife that went on in Berlin at the time as thousands of innocent Jews were led to their slaughters but our concentration is on the two women.
DVD Review: constant betrayal
Summary: 5 Stars
This highly erotic twisting of Berlin has a high point when plotters think they have killed Hitler, but the bomb that went off two meters to Hitler's right did not kill Hitler, and surviving the assassination attempt might have made Hitler stronger by showing how German that kind of triumph can be. One irony, a German soldier who is concerned that his kids be brought up right, probably adds to the suspense about which German soldiers will die if the war keeps going on. I enjoy this kind of thing because I keep hoping it will end, but "forever" seems like a perfect carved in stone tombstone kind of comment in this movie.DVD Review: Worthwhile Holocaust-themed melodrama
Summary: 3 Stars
I have mixed feelings about "Aimee and Jaguar" but more positive than negative. It's based on a true story set in Berlin in 1943. The film however begins in the present as we're introduced to one of the protagonists as an old woman. We then flash back to the war years where we meet Lilly Wust, married with four children, with a German soldier husband who occasionally comes home from the front. Felice is a Jewish lesbian, boldly hiding out with forged identity papers, working for a Nazi newspaper editor (brilliantly played by Peter Weck). Felice's girlfriend Ilse is Lily's household servant. When thrill-seeker Felice spies Lilly for the first time, she's determined to make it with her simply as a game. But after Lilly's marriage falls apart, the two fall in love. Along the way, one of Felice's lesbian friends is shot down in the street by the Gestapo. After about a year and a half, Felice's cover is blown and she's shipped off to a concentration camp where she presumably is killed (in real life, Felice's fate is unknown to this day).
Most of "Aimee and Jaguar" focuses on the relationship between the two lovers. It's a mature look at a budding lesbian relationship and there are some sensitively photographed love scenes. Felice adopts the masculine persona of 'Jaguar' and Lilly is the demure 'Aimee'. Most of the conflict within the relationship is primarily centered on Lilly's confusion about her sexuality, self-worth and decision to involve herself with Felice whose sensitive side is repressed due to her constant fear of being arrested by the Nazis.
While the relationship between the two lovers is at times compelling, it also becomes a little tiresome due to the fact that it's unnecessarily drawn out.
"Aimee and Jaguar" is also a subtle Holocaust-related story, focusing on how ordinary German civilians reacted during the Nazi horror. Not all the Germans are happy with Hitler. In an early scene, Lilly's Nazi lover overhears Lilly's father badmouthing the regime and threatens to turn him in. Others act totally out of self-interest: a woman ends up selling black market food coupons to Felice and her friends inside a bathroom while they're attending a Nazi social function at a hotel. And then there are the hard core Nazis, such as Felice's newspaper editor employer who boasts that the German people are capable of "tremendous feats" despite all the bad news coming in from the war front.
In addition to the intense interplay between Felice and Lilly, there's also some nice tension between Ilse and Felice after Ilse becomes jealous over Felice's newfound interest in Lilly. Less interesting and predictable are the long, drawn out scenes between Lilly and her husband, Gunther, whose excursions from the war front are never explained.
Ultimately, the intensity of the performances of the actresses who play Felice and Lilly make up for the lack of conflict between the principal characters. As a history lesson, "Aimee & Jaguar" is also worth seeing, chronicling the Holocaust from the 'home front' perspective.
DVD Review: One of the best films ever.
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this film for its intrique, ambiance and the wonderful, exceptional actresses who are so compelling in their story. Too, I felt transported to their time. Kohler and Schraeder were phenomenal, as well as the entire cast. I don't tire of watching them. This is near the top of my all-time favs.
Description of Aimee and Jaguar
In 1943, while the Allies are bombing Berlin and the Gestapo is purging the capital of Jews, a dangerous love affair blossoms between two women. One of them, Lilly Wust (Juliane K?hler), married and the mother of four sons, enjoys the privileges of her stature as an exemplar of Nazi motherhood. For her, this affair will be the most decisive experience of her life. For the other woman, Felice Schragenheim (Maria Schrader), a Jewess and member of the underground, their love fuels her with the hope that she will survive. A half-century later, Lilly Wust told her incredible story to writer Erica Fischer, and thebook, AIMEE & JAGUAR, first published in 1994 immediately became a bestseller and has since been translated into eleven languages. Max F?rberb?ck's debut film, based on Fischer's book, is the true story of this extraordinary relationship. The film was nominated for a 1999 Golden Globe Award and was Germany's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Both actresses received Silver Bears at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival for their portrayals of "Aim?e" and "Jaguar".General DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in General DVDs
Best in ShowWarner Brothers; Release date: 2001-05-15; DVD
Best price: $6.22
Price in other shops:
The Lives of OthersSony; Release date: 2007-08-21; DVD
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops:
Pan's LabyrinthVERDU,MARIBEL; Release date: 2007-05-15; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Chocolat (Miramax Collector's Series)Disney; Release date: 2001-08-07; DVD
Best price: $5.97
Price in other shops:
AmelieDisney; Release date: 2002-07-16; DVD
Best price: $9.98
Price in other shops:
Life Is BeautifulDisney; Release date: 1999-11-09; DVD
Best price: $4.58
Price in other shops:
![Gomorrah (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Gomorrah-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray-B002M36R14-X.jpg)
Gomorrah (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]IMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2009-11-24; DVD
Best price: $23.48
Price in other shops:
Let The Right One InMAGNOLIA FILMS; Release date: 2009-03-10; DVD
Best price: $7.62
Price in other shops:
The Ultimate GiftUltimate; Release date: 2007-08-21; DVD
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
Slumdog MillionaireTCFHE; Release date: 2009-03-31; DVD
Best price: $5.42
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Nina's Heavenly DelightsRYKODISC; Release date: 2008-04-22; DVD
Best price: $13.80
Price in other shops:
Desert Hearts (Two-Disc Vintage Collection)WOLFE VIDEO; Release date: 2007-06-05; DVD
Best price: $13.21
Price in other shops:
Loving AnnabelleWOLFE VIDEO; Release date: 2006-12-12; DVD
Best price: $14.54
Price in other shops:
High ArtSHEEDY,ALLY; Release date: 2004-07-27; DVD
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
When Night Is FallingBUSSIERES,PASCALE; Release date: 2008-02-05; DVD
Best price: $12.43
Price in other shops:
FingersmithACORN MEDIA; Release date: 2005-09-13; DVD
Best price: $17.01
Price in other shops:
The SecretsBUKSTEIN,ANIA; Release date: 2009-04-07; DVD
Best price: $17.30
Price in other shops:
Amour de FemmeWolfe; Release date: 2004-10-12; DVD
Best price: $17.58
Price in other shops:
Tipping the VelvetACORN MEDIA; Release date: 2004-01-27; DVD
Best price: $14.75
Price in other shops:
Aim?e & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943by Erica Fischer
Alyson Books; Published: 1998-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops: