bkoganbing Maria's Lovers casts Natassia Kinski and John Savage as a pair of young Slavic second generation Americans in Western Pennsylvania who get married after World War II and presumably like most will live the American dream happily ever after.Not quite so happily though because Savage has some real issues and who wouldn't after surviving a Japanese prison camp. In fact his well meaning but quite fatuous father Robert Mitchum asks Savage why didn't he try and escape. This was obviously a man who had seen too many American gangster flicks where Cagney/Bogart/Raft are always crashing out of the big house.Mitchum is fatuous about that, but he does say to Savage not to rush into things. As well he shouldn't with his issues. Wedding night comes and he can't do the deed. Which leaves Kinski looking for a little love in all the wrong places. And charming itinerant entertainer Keith Carradine picks up on it.The issue of impotence and its infinite number of causes was dealt with a lot better in the British classic film, The Family Way. It's not as simple as it is made out here where Savage's very manhood is called into question and it's a do or divorce situation. Best in the film is Keith Carradine who is really quite amoral. Makes his character from Nashville look like an Eagle Scout. And of course Robert Mitchum always adds something to any film he's in.I have to say though I was left as unfulfilled as Natassia on her wedding night.

nathalie tomaszewski One reason to want to watch this movie is to see perform one of the most talented actresses of her generation, Nastassja Kinski. Others: Her traumatized husband coming back from WWII, a perfectly suited role for Mr John Savage. The plot is simple and misleading, The scenes full of suspense yet stealing our breath at the least expecting moment. This movie reminds us of what acting used to be and how subtlety creates miracles. Simple and excellent.

stevie_bebop I haven't seen this since it came out but I still talk about it when discussing the nature of love. It deals well with an issue I believe many people can relate to: the fine line between love and hate. The whole point [I believe] of the movie is to illustrate how John Savage's inability to make love to his wife is because he loves her too purely and only once that innocent worship has been tarnished can he consummate his marriage and love his wife completely.If you've ever wondered why your best sexual memories are of people you didn't love then this movie is for you.

ipswich-2 A World War II soldier (Savage) returns to marry his old lover (Kinski) but his inability to father a child leads to the destruction of their marriage. The couple goes through a series of tribulations before coming together again. Savage gives a so-so performance as the tormented husband who loses the will to commit to the sanctity of the marriage bond. Kinski gives her most versatile and inspired performance ever as the anguished wife. If anything, watch her. The director, Andrei Konchalovsky, is actually Russian. The movie is a pastiche of styles from American and European film-making. Strong powerful storytelling through the chronology of time tinged with the emotional pathos that is typical of most European films. In the end, the mix is a bit jagged and mismatched, but this doesn't stray from an otherwise strong and moving movie.