...Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1979)

Die Ehe der Maria Braun (The Marriage of Maria Braun) is often touted as Rainer Werner Fassbinder's most successful film and, with a magnificent performance by Hanna Schygulla in the title role, it most probably is. The story reminds me of about 5% of the 1945 film, Mildred Pierce which also concerns a woman working her way up the corporate ladder, so to speak, after World War II. Unlike the 1945 film though, Fassbinder has layered his story with underlying themes of post-war reconstruction and sexuality and ended the whole thing brilliantly; you'll be ruminating on this one for days.