Phoenix

Phoenix, the sixth collaboration of Christian Petzold and Nina Hoss, revives the legacy of so-called “ruin films” (Trümmmerfilmen) such as Murderers Among Us and Germany, Year Zero while also enriching it with elements of Hitchcockian thrillers. In an attempt to overcome the horrors of war without erasing six years of history, Petzold decided to present the story of the Jewish singer Nelly. The first transformation that awaits her following her return has only an aesthetic nature. Though she was able to get her original face back thanks to plastic surgery, her husband does not recognise her. For reasons that will be made clear to us later through the inventive doling out of information, she refuses to admit that she was able to survive. Just like Scottie in Hitchcock’s Vertigo, the film’s main male protagonist begins to “create” his fated wife. He is not aware that he has had her right in front of him the whole time. Nelly obediently fulfils her husband’s wishes, she learns to be herself again and hopes that in the end, with the right dress, hairstyle and walk, she will be accepted in the role that belongs to her. ___ The film’s plot has a slight whiff of trash. However, Petzold resists the temptations of the genre and, through the gradual development of a complex portrait of the central heroine, lays the groundwork for the emotionally devastating climax. He is not interested in shocking plot twists and, with his strictly linear narrative, he does not want to keep us waiting for Johnny to finally recognise his wife. The tension in the film is more subtle in nature and is derived from issues pertaining to shared responsibility for the history of the nation. ___ Viewers who are familiar with German cinema will be pleased by the fact that Petzold intersperses his multi-layered study of the human (in)ability to accept the past with references to Weimar culture, while the stylisation of the mise-en-scène is reminiscent of the style found in film noir. Alongside the identity of one woman and one nation, a film style created by post-war traumas arises us before us like a phoenix from the ashes. ___ Petzold’s outwardly calm and inconspicuous film is a masterfully structured drama that balances a thematically rich web of metaphors with a gripping narrative without the aid of formal or content-related clichés. 85% (13/04/2018)

When it comes to the premise, Phoenix was an incredibly interesting movie. But the disaster was that the two main characters acted like they escaped a madhouse. Nelly is being a poor little thing for the entire hour and a half, her husband is dumb as a doornail and they make up for a good drama together. I was waiting to see which way the director takes the ending and I must say I was disappointed. It started out really well, but then the movie didn’t open up to the viewer at all. I had to draw the conclusions on my own.The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a similar movie, but I’m certain that it will stay with me forever thanks to its final scene. Unfortunately, Phoenix lacked such a scene. (15/03/2015)

Like Andrei Zvjagincev's Leviathan, Petzold's Phoenix a slightly anachronistic film with its literacy and novel screenplay. Nevertheless, the anachronism is not at all detrimental here. The German director subscribes to an intellectual tradition that may already be slightly de mode, but does so in an extremely impressive and sophisticated way. The intimate drama based on three characters and a consistent emphasis on trifles, hints and elliptical elements in storytelling is impressive in the most traditional sense - an intellectual emphasis on the layered image of the "face of post-war German society", guilt, identity and of course love - anxiety from someone else. Phoenix is certainly a kind of Jewish Vertigo, but where the distanced analyst Hitch ostentatiously operates on psychoanalytic concepts, Petzold gives the maximum possible care to the inner world of the main character. The way he models the devastated pre-camera space and surrounds Nelly with "shards of sound" uniquely emphasizes her fragile surrender and uncertainty over her identity. The rest is done by the absolutely accurate Nina Hoss. Although the story finds itself on the edge of fabrication in several places, the screenwriter's ability to give up melodramatic moves and to maintain life and semantic dynamics in literary dialogues (and paintings) does not fail. I consider the finale to be a brilliant example of how traditional catharsis is built in the best sense, with an emphasis on all previous psychological nuances. There is no better proof of Petzold's sensitivity and moderation. Phoenix is a cultivated drama and there is no shame if you cry during it. Because it deserves all the burdens honestly. (11/02/2015)

They might have directly called it Das Schwindelgefühl sakumprdum because it was inspired but... you know what. And to its detriment, because from the scene "in Johnny's lair for the first time" on, it will have the exact opposite effect instead of having tension between the characters. This is a great example of plot planning so everything leads to the only one possible outcome. And this outcome, unsurprisingly, is slowly achieved about an hour later. So it works mainly thanks to the introductory third and the central duo (in which he is an unacknowledged German-speaking illegitimate child of Russel Crowe. Even so, it is a solid “Hitch movie", which, paradoxically, is better off in the line of "finally a different grasp of the theme of coping with the return from the concentration camp and post-war identity of the German nation", which in all its subtlety, hints and all that unspoken stuff is much more impressive than if it just followed the genre. (20/02/2015)

Reviewing Phoenix is a really tricky issue. Just to be clear, I have no problem whatsoever labeling Phoenix as a truly bad film. A fundamentally bad film, to be exact. On the other hand, Phoenix is bad in such a charmingly twisted way and its craftsmanship undeniably has many strengths. It's a film that literally screams falsehood. It is untrustworthy in its portrayal of human emotions, thought processes, and the actions of its characters. By attempting to be earnestly serious, it teeters on the edge of absurdity, and by desperately striving for catharsis, it goes beyond that threshold. I actually felt sorry for Nina Hoss for what the director put her through. It's not important that Phoenix is a construct. There are plenty of films like that and yet they manage to be fully functional. One such example is Hitchcock's Vertigo, which many people refer to. The problem is that it is a naive and awkward construct. I liked the cinematography, Ronald Zehrfeld portrayed Johny very nicely, and I also liked the atmosphere. However, my overall impression is still only 40%, and Petzold should be glad for even this modest number, considering how he handled a serious topic. (05/02/2020)

Christian Petzold est un réalisateur remarquable, ça ne fait pas l’ombre d’un doute. Sur le plan de la forme, Phoenix est superbement abouti, mais par rapport à son contenu, il ne m’a absolument pas satisfait. Il est possible que j’aie vu le film dans un état d’esprit inapproprié, les drames intimistes n’étant pas un genre qu’on peut regarder n’importe quand et en toute circonstance. Je suis d’accord avec le fait que Nina Hoss est excellente une fois de plus sous la direction de Petzold. Certaines prises sont de véritables pépites, le final est grandiose, mais ça ne m’a pas empêché de m’ennuyer pendant un bon moment et d’anticiper impatiemment l’intrigue. Dommage. Et Barbara m’a procuré une expérience plus forte. (27/02/2015)