Barbara

A slow-burning but compelling film underpinned by a great performance from the statuesque Nina Hoss. Her Barbara is a heroine in the mould of classic leading ladies of the 1950s. Petzold is very clever in using minimal exposition to keep the viewer always in the dark or a few steps behind the characters. This creates a sense of mystery which helps to heighten the already palpable tension which seems to permeate these East German rural locales. Well-paced, well-written and packed with atmosphere.

so oppressive and infused with unspoken longing, centred around a deliciously alert, guarded performance-of-the-year candidate from nina hoss as the titular doctor planning to defect to the west, that i can largely excuse the sledgehammer signifiers and played out narrative....

A restrained, bleak and precisely paced political drama that prefers the distance of vague, dry but economic shots than easy and phony detours. There is not a single mention to what Barbara is exactly doing by hiding money and receiving these notes we can't read, but Petzold still finds a way to turn this story -- set in a time in which information or the lack of it could define your future -- into something somber, mysterious, but also heroic and heartful.

It takes a while to draw you in, but the miserly but masterful way that Petzold drip-feeds you clues makes this film quite compelling. The use of sound is particularly effective in keeping up the tension - the soundtrack is so sparse you end up straining to hear who might be coming.

Offers a rare glimp how bleak life was like in the GDR. Bone chilling.

I really like the way Petzold guides us through this story, with a minimum of fireworks and instead an emphasis on subtlety of gesture and gaze. Hoss is quite good in her role as the "separate" doctor, managing to give us a window into her character's inner world through actions more than words. The film suffers a bit from its conventionality--the way it plays out was pretty obvious for the final hour or so of the film.

Fascinating look at life in the GDR, but more than that a beautiful and subtly told story.

The main story arc seems at once conventional and not very well constructed, but the same cannot be said about the atmosphere. Petzold, like in his other movies, is pitch-perfect in creating a mood that holds the movie together even where the story fails to do so.

An understated subtle drama with deceptively small-scale ambitions that slowly becomes a forceful and rivetingly tense portrait of desperation set in the oppressive, political backdrop of 80's East Germany. Nina Hoss delivers a precise, finely-tuned performance.

neredeyse tek bir fazla karesi olmayan, çok zarif ve her düzeyde incelikli biçimde işleyen filmlerin yönetmeni kesinlikle petzold. avrupa sinemasında artan, festival filminin artık kendi içerisinde bir janra dönüştüren formülize "gerçeklik" işlerinin aksine bu kadar sahi hissettiren, karakterlerin estetik bir çerçeve ötesinde de var olmayı becerebildiği hırssız bir aşk ve yabancılık hikayesi. tabii aynı zamanda erkin kaybolmayan baskısının da.

One of my favorite films of the year. It deliberately withholds information, but remains compelling and hypnotic, with brilliant visuals and an excellent performance from the gorgeous Nina Hoss. Anybody interested in this particular moment in history must see this film.

Engrossing while remaining understated. Great cinematography. Not as cerebral as my first Petzold film (Yella) but more enjoyable overall.

Lukewarm.

Beautiful and cortisol-raising -without peaking into tangible anxiety or paranoia- and brilliant for it.

Predictable conclusion but an accomplished portrayal of what might be termed the banality of oppression.

A bittersweet story of a woman that has been allocated to a rural East Germany village due to her wish to flee the country. It really captures the time period, as well dealing a lot with morality in general. The ending is something to behold.

Hoss is incredible in compelling study of oppression.

(...)Barbara, ein Film mit Suspense - ohne aber die üblichen Genre-Formeln zu benutzen. Einmal untersucht Andre einen Jungen, der sich umbringen wollte. Andre gesteht Barbara, dass etwas schief laufen würde. Man könnte das auf den gesamten Film übertragen. Etwas läuft schief in der DDR und jeder kann es spüren.(...)

nisan 12, ist film fest & Barbara biraz fazla duz, fazla normal bir filmdi. Karakterler & catismalar iyi kurulmustu. Ancak yavan bir tat birakti

A very understated drama/thriller that portrays the way that huge political and social injustices show themselves in small everyday events. Makes for a nice counterpoint to films like The Lives of Others.

Brilliantly creates a sense of that time and place - understated and undramatic but still claustrophobic and threatening.

(THE MED WITH A BIKE)

Very well made for what it is, but ultimately disappointingly ordinary and even somewhat conventional after the enigmatic first act. It's definitely more satisfying than Petzold's previous few films, but it still doesn't quite live up to the promise of Petzold's earlier work.

Başarılı işler ortaya çıkaran Christian Petzold + Nina Hoss birlikteliğinden totaliter, baskıcı Doğu Alman rejiminde geçen, politik söylemli, durağan temposu nedeniyle sıradan izleyici için seyri zor bir melodram.

In a way, Barbara is very similar to Transit. Maybe we can say that Transit is "Barbara" which is not a child anymore.