Lili Marleen

Lili Marleen is set in Zurich in the years around the outbreak of the Second World War. Willie, a German cabaret singer, begins a relationship with Robert, a Jewish composer and musician whose father runs a clandestine operation helping refugees leave Germany. Robert's family distrusts Willie and suspects she may be a Nazi sympathizer, and his father in particular opposes the relationship. Robert regularly carries funds across the border, and when Willie persuades him to take her along, the trip becomes the means by which the lovers are separated. Willie later comes under the protection of Henkel, an SS officer, and her recording of the song "Lili Marleen" makes her a star sponsored by the cultural authorities of the Third Reich, even as she remains watched because of her Jewish lover.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder directed the film, which was released in January 1981 and followed The Marriage of Maria Braun and Lola in his filmography. The screenplay was written by Manfred Purzer, Joshua Sinclair and Fassbinder, with Enzo Peri and Luggi Waldleitner producing. Hanna Schygulla plays Willie, Giancarlo Giannini plays Robert, and Mel Ferrer, Karl-Heinz von Hassel, Erik Schumann and Hark Bohm appear in supporting roles. On TMDB the film holds a rating of 6.5 out of 10 from 92 votes, while its critics' rating stands at 5.8 out of 10 from 12 reviews, slightly below the audience figure.