7 Oct 2015
Director: Christian Petzold
Germany
2014
98 min
From the director of Barbara and with Nina Hoss in the lead role, Christian Petzold builds up an edgy sense of mystery, betrayal and double take in a superbly crafted melodrama set in post-war Germany. Disfigured concentration camp survivor Nelly (Hoss) has undergone reconstructive facial surgery. She returns to Berlin desperately seeking Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), the husband who may have betrayed her to the Nazis. Failing to recognise her and believing her dead, Johnny persuades Nelly to masquerade as her former self in order to claim her inheritance and, obsessed with testing out their love, she finds herself unable to resist. Phoenix is a seductive tale of intrigue and paranoia reflecting a country coming to terms with the raw guilt of the recent past.