Sisters, or The Balance of Happiness

A quiet, emotionally heavy character study that lingers on grief and control, asking patience as it slowly unravels a troubled bond between two women.

Directed by

Margarethe von Trotta

Genres

Drama

Starring

Jutta Lampe, Gudrun Gabriel, Konstantin Wecker

Overview

Sisters Maria and Anna live together. Maria is a most proficient executive secretary, encouraging Anna to finish her studies and start a career. Anna broods, threatens to quit university, takes pills, and keeps a diary. When Maria's relationship with Maurice, the son of her boss, starts to lead to love, Anna takes a selfish and drastic step that plummets Maria into solitude. No longer able to connect with Maurice, Maria does establish a relationship with Miriam, a typist at her office who becomes a surrogate younger sister. But Maria is intrusive as well as helpful. Can this or any relationship work out for this talented woman whose past seems to choke her soul?

How it feels

Melancholic, dark, tense and earnest. Slow-burning and demanding.

About

Grief, isolation, family, identity

Content

Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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