Fontane - Effi Briest (1974) - Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film adaptation of Theodor Fontane's 1894 novel.
Effi Briest (Hanna Schygulla) is a young woman who marries a middle-aged man (Wolfgang Schenck) hoping to make his way in politics. She is somewhat flighty and nervous, whilst he simply tells her not to be. She then has an affair, and the events play themselves out.
Fassbinder, as per usual, has created a masterful film that it is almost impossible to fault. The bold black and white cinematography looks stunning and enhances the mood of the film. The direction is clever and intriguing without ever being showy or distracting. The acting performances from first to last are perfect, with the silences and telling looks revealing as much of the characters as their words do. If you want to see how films could and should be made, look no further.

Plot:
In the nineteenth century, seventeen year old Effi Briest (Hanna Schygulla) is married to the older Baron von Instetten (Wolfgang Schenck) and moves into a house, that she believes has a ghost, in a small isolated Baltic town. She soon bears a daughter, Annie, and hires the lapsed Catholic Roswitha to look after her. Effi is lonely when her husband is away on business, so she spends time riding and walking along the shore with Major Crampas. Instetten is promoted to Ministerial Councillor and the family moves to Berlin, where Effi enjoys the social life. Six years later, the Baron is given letters from Crampas to Effi that convince him that they had an affair. He feels obliged to challenge Crampas to a duel.