The Marriage of Maria Braun is a 1979 West German drama film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The film stars Hanna Schygulla as Maria, who marries German soldier Hermann Braun during World War II. The couple spend over a decade apart due to forces largely beyond Maria's control. To survive in postwar Germany, Maria becomes a sex worker, a wealthy industrialist's mistress, and eventually a ruthless capitalist during the German economic miracle, while still asserting her loyalty to Hermann.