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My Sister Maria
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  1. MaryH.
    Jul 14, 2005
    10
    Movie critics in general are people who make their living by writing unflattering remarks about films, actors and filmmakers. If you are a fan of Maria Schell - and especially if you are old enough to remember her very first Hollywood films - then you will be able to ignore the critics and watch it through the eyes of love. I'm one of those 'old' fans, and love was all I could see in this documentary. Miss Schell's love of life, love of her family, friends, her career and especially her memories, which were all vividly intact and were not confusing as the present times often were. I saw her family's great love for her, especially the love of her brother, Maximillian. He didn't make this film to earn money. He did it to help Maria see how much she meant to him, to her family and to all of us throughout the world who knew her only through her work but loved her so dearly, nevertheless . He did it to help her achieve that paradise on earth which she longed to experience before death came calling. Some people would do this only after the person being honored had passed away. Maximillian Schell did it while she was still alive able to participate in the finished product. And on top of all that, he saw to it that she received the very best of care until the very end of her life. He gave her that paradise she wanted - to live in the warmth of cherished memories of old friends, old films and old loves while the people around her took care of her and her home. I have never heard of greater love than this! Thank you, Mr. Schell, for everything. She has been my favorite actress since I was 13 (and I'm 61 now.) If you understand German you will be touched by Miss Schell's wamrth and wit. She will make you feel as though you are actually there in the room with her. And if you don't understand German, well - you will be treated to the very best English subtitles I have ever read. Even if you are not a fan of Maria Schell, you should at least be impressed by her gutsiness. It must have been very painful for her to re-enact some of the most humiiating experiences of her life, namely, the day on which the local authorities served notice that her home and personal property were to be auctioned in order to pay her debts. And then there was the phone call to her son, Oliver, to say goodbye because she thought that a great comet was about to kill all of us (she was watching 'Deep Impact'). Maria Schell was old, frail and ill when this film was made, and yet she took direction and 'hit her marks' like the consummate artist she always was. Bravo, Maria! And Bravo to you, also, Max - this film not only enabled her to live a full life at the end, but it also helped her die a good death. One does not need to love her as a fan would in order to appreciate this film. One does not need to be a fan of her brother, Max, in order to appreciate the effort he put into it. One only needs to sit back and watch it with an open mind and an open heart.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    70
    Maximilian stresses that Maria was an icon in postwar Germany, yet the saddest thing about her isolation and disappointment is that it's so common.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Lael Loewenstein
    80
    A tender, achingly poignant portrait of the Austrian actress Maria Schell, My Sister Maria is a valentine from her younger brother Maximilian.
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  3. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    70
    One worries from scene to scene about whether the movie is a work of experimental art or just another ruthless intrusion into the life of a dying and, to some degree, broken woman. I'm willing to bet that Maximilian fretted over this too, for the film is as tense and fractured, as alienating -- and, finally, touching -- a work as it undoubtedly ought to be.
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