Martha

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's MARTHA presents a case study in abuse, terror, and victimhood in the form of its main character, the aging spinster Martha (Margit Carstensen). Suffering a constant stream of verbal abuse and domination of her life by both by her father and mother, Martha feels little remorse when her father dies suddenly while on vacation in Rome. Upon her return home, Martha chooses to escape from her mother by marrying Helmuth (Karlheinz Bohm). She soon finds, however, that Helmuth provides not rescue, but a further descent into terror. (official distributor synopsis)