Directed by: Margarethe von Trotta
Written by: Margarethe von Trotta, Luisa Francia, Martje Grohmann, Wolfgang Bächler
Starring: Jutta Lampe, Gudrun Gabriel, Jessica Früh, Konstantin Wecker, Agnes Fink
Rating: [3.5/5]
Messy relationships between people have the tendency to extend beyond two individuals in the way it wraps others in and potentially negatively affects them. It gives credence to the idea of avoiding messy people in your life unless you want that mess spilled on you. If a distinct messiness summarises what you want in a movie then I have quite the film for you with Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness as it provides it in spades.
Excelling as an executive secretary, Maria Sundermann (Jutta Lampe) co-exists with a sister named Anna (Gudrun Gabriel) who comes in with her own issues pulling Maria in for the ride. Their battle for control of the other causes plenty of tension and issues between them, especially when one of them seeks to expand beyond the other.
Examining a relationship as toxic as the one captured in this feature will have anyone running away in fear because of what it captures but also the seed of truth it carries in our lives. Sure, the degree to which we interact with others may not reach this severity but a distinct element of it can certainly begin to peak its way out. The relationship between these two sisters moves away from co-dependency and shifts to self-sabotage in the way it outlines their true feelings for each other and how it results in self-detriment in the process.
This relationship thus becomes about this battle of control and freedom as possession becomes important to each of them, especially when specifying specific aspects of each other’s lives where they derive the most interest. For Maira, she wishes Anna would get better in order to get a job that will sustain her, which Anna refuses to acknowledge and acquiesce to because of her own struggles. You can see this push and pull between them where you just know the story will not end well but it certainly draws you into the level these two will spiral towards in order to get what they want from the other.
When I say spiraling to the bottom, it gets really dark as this feature goes to unexpected places in displaying just how low these sisters would go to get their way. It certainly took me aback when some of the pivotal moments occurred and it really went far in fully displaying the full-on toxicity this feature had to offer. It makes the examination of the title of this feature even more intriguing to read into. You can read “the balance of happiness” as the complete opposite of what sisters can possibly be, but grammatically it operates similarly to a subtitle in displaying the real meaning of what occurs in the movie.
Continually underappreciated as a filmmaker, Margarethe von Trotta has consistently delivered some fascinating work in the way she distills and dissects the relationships between individuals, and in this feature, she takes aim at sisters, but also women as a whole when they get introduced into the story. She delves into the dynamics between them with a level of precision and fierceness to truly get into the root of the issue between these characters and she imprints her style upon all of it in a way to add a surrealist twist to this story further adding onto the extremes undertaken by these two sisters.
Reviewing this feature so close to Ingmar Bergman’s The Silence definitely allowed these two features to align together in some interesting ways. One, it evidently has two sisters who have quite the love-hate relationship but also must combat the ideals they have for one another and how it adds to a level of toxicity that will certainly not end well for all involved. A nice connection between the two filmmakers and how they approach their stories. Margarethe von Trotta does a fine job here in crafting this story and the tension existing here only ratchets up in seeing just how low these two will go in their attempt to have their will imposed on the other. Something quite unique to take in because of its style if not for the subject matter it takes on and its focus on women, which makes me grateful Margarethe von Trotta continues to tell stories like this one and so competently.
Films with Josh 
