Rona Munro Movies

The opening film of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, Aimée & Jaguar drew attention not only for the lesbian love story that it narrates, but equally for the political position of the lovers -- Aimée, the wife of a Nazi officer, and Jaguar, a Jewish journalist. The story is based on the memoirs of Lilly Wust (the Aimée character), who is 85 and still living in Germany. In 1943, as Allied bombers leave Berlin in ruins, Lilly Wust Juliane Köhler earns a Cross of Motherhood for bringing up four children while husband Günther Detlev Buck is away fighting on the eastern front. She leads a bourgeois existence, with occasional love affairs on the side, and the bust of Hitler is a prominent decoration in their flat. When Lilly receives a love letter signed 'Jaguar,' she suspects a male admirer. But it is the self-confident Felice Schragenheim Maria Schrader who initiates this forbidden romance. A passionate love affair begins amidst the bombing raids and the threat of persecution. Madly in love, Lilly wants to divorce her husband, which causes a terrible storm, not just because her lover is a woman, but because she is Jewish and fighting for the Resistance. But nothing stops the love-blind Lilly. The two women make a pact of love and marriage and try to block out the reality of war and persecution; however, the Gestapo soon catches up with them. Aimée & Jaguar is based on Erica Fischer's best-selling book, published in 1994 and translated into eleven languages; the real life Lilly Wust was 80 years old when she told Erica Fischer her story. Maria Schrader and Juliane Köhler shared the Silver Bear for the Best Actress at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, for their roles in Aimée & Jaguar, while the film received the Teddy Award, given to films dealing with gay and lesbian issues. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the three-part story "Survival," the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) are baffled by the strange goings-on in Ace's hometown of Perivale. While trying to help Sgt. Paterson (Julian Holloway) solve a series of disappearances, Ace herself vanishes, only to reappear in the Hunting World, where death is not the worst thing that can happen to her -- at least, not so long as the Cheetah People are around and about. First telecast on December 12, 1989, "Survival, Episode 2" was written by Rona Munro. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the three-part story "Survival," the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy), Ace (Sophie Aldred), and Sgt. Paterson (Julian Holloway) have been whisked away to the Hunting World, where they find themselves the quarry of the dreaded Cheetah People. Pulling the strings of this situation is the Doctor's perennial nemesis, the Master (Anthony Ainley), who has aligned himself with the Cheetah People -- an alliance that may have devastating consequences on everyone in the universe, including the Master. It is up to the Doctor to set things right by summoning what a psychiatrist might refer to as "The Inner Beast." Written by Rona Munro, "Survival, Episode 3" was originally seen on December 19, 1989, at which point the 26-year-old series Doctor Who went into mothballs until the 30th anniversary special four years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide