“Margarethe von Trotta’s knack for observing the big picture through the more primal politics of personal relationships works best when she focuses on the latter. In particular, the subtle and drastic power games played by intimate family members bring out her best instincts, especially when the main players are women, as is the case in her two best films, Die bleierne Zeit/Marianne and Juliane (1981) and Heller Wahn/Shear Madness (1983). Made for German TV, Die andere Frau revisits those strengths, though in a more conventional formula.
“Ivonne Schumacher (Barbara Auer), formerly of the GDR, has made good in the West. Her husband, Stefan (Stefan Kurt), an erstwhile Stasi agent, is now a good capitalist earning a fortune with his "investments." Ivonne has no interest in examining the past until she receives a letter from an unknown woman. Now in prison, Vera Glaubitz (Barbara Sukowa) claims she had an affair with Stefan, whom she knew as Peter, for years. A "Stasi Romeo," he seduced her in order to get her to steal state secrets at the office where she worked. Ivonne visits Vera in jail, and their relationship goes through many phases of hostility, hysteria, bonding, and despair as Vera recounts her story through flashbacks and Ivonne ponders her marriage. Not much to think about there: it stinks. The biggest mystery in the film isn’t where Stefan gets his money but why two attractive and intelligent women would fall for such a creep. In German with English subtitles. (90 minutes)”

故事发生在车水马龙的繁华大都市纽约，嘉德（英格丽德·波尔索·贝达尔 Ingrid Bolsø Berdal 饰）是一名职业模特，拥有性感的身材和天使般的容貌，活跃在时尚秀场和杂志的封面之上。玛利亚（卡嘉·瑞曼 Katja Riemann 饰）性格温柔又贤惠，独自抚养着孩子，是一位坚强而又乐观的单身母亲。这看似八竿子打不到一起的两人，她们的生命却因为一个名叫尼克（哈鲁克·比尔吉纳 Haluk Bilginer 饰）的男人而被牢牢的拴在了一起，她们都曾瞎了眼和尼克有过一段失败的婚姻，而根据婚前协议，两人都被尼克安置到了位于曼哈顿的豪华顶层公寓之中。
两个性格迥异的女人之间，战争一触即发。