Barbara
Director: Christian Petzold.
Starring: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld.
Reviewed by Ben Carey.

[rating: 3/5]

Barbara (Hoss) is a doctor working in a small country hospital in 1980s East Germany. She is exceptional at her job, but she has a hard time connecting with her colleagues and dealing with living in a dilapidated apartment block. She begins to develop a friendship with one of the male doctors in the hospital, Andre (Zehrfeld), but even with him she cannot be herself. She is a very protective and reserved person. The mystery surrounding her character increases all the more when a German police officer starts following her and intermittently raiding her apartment.

This film was a pleasant surprise. From the first ten minutes one would assume this would just be a sweet little German film containing personal and hospital drama, however, it evolves into much more than that. It is a great example of European minimalism, in cinematography as well as acting and dialogue. A lot is shown through action rather than reams and reams of dialogue. It is also interesting seeing a film about Germany in an era other than the 40s during the Second World War (I must have seen them all!). It’s also nice to see the beautiful German countryside – the fields, the beach, and the exquisite laneways – as opposed to many German films set in the big cities.