Barbara
Director: Christian Petzold
Year Released: 2012
Rating: 3.0
An East German physician (Nina Hoss), who dreams of relocating to West Germany, puts in a request to go there and is instead transferred to a rural hospital where she is under constant surveillance by the Stasi (the Secret Police) and by her new supervisor, Dr. Reiser (Ronald Zehrfeld), who is attracted to her (though the feelings aren't mutual). Petzold, who worked on the script with distinguished avant-garde filmmaker Harun Farocki, keeps the dialogue vague and minimal, trusting the audience to understand the scenario and emotions running through Hoss' character. The atmosphere is commendably tense, as it becomes clear Hoss is a severely wounded figure who will do almost anything to escape until a necessary (but strongly coincidental) character reappears to keep her trapped in the suffocating police state. Petzold and Farocki make good use of the 'deeper meaning' of the Rembrandt painting and Turgenev story to add texture to the scenario.
