Movie_Muse_Reviews Christian Petzold explores the trauma of the Holocaust in a deeply psychological way in "Phoenix," a drama that unfolds in the aftermath of World War II as a woman with a new face and the opportunity for a fresh start after surviving the death camps must attempt to actually put concept to practice. Petzold regular Nina Hoss stars as Nelly Lenz, a Holocaust survivor who returns home to a demolished Berlin after the war following successful facial reconstructive surgery. She lives with her close friend, also Jewish, named Lene (Nina Kuzendorf), who talks of a plan to start a new life in what will shortly become Israel, but Nelly is preoccupied with finding her husband, Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), the non-Jewish jazz pianist whom she was taken from during the war, but who Lene says actually betrayed her to the Nazis. When Nelly finds Johnny, he doesn't recognize her, but the resemblance is uncanny enough that Johnny conspires to make her look like her old self in order to get her family fortune out of a Swiss bank. Nelly goes along with the ploy, hoping for the truth — and that Johnny might realize it's actually her.The premise borrows from parts of Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo," but there are no thriller elements in "Phoenix," just psychological drama and a good deal of suspense between Nelly and Johnny as she becomes more and more like "the old Nelly." This premise provides a brilliant juxtaposition with the Nelly character on the whole, someone who desperately wants to become her old self and have her old life back, but of course, having lived through one of the worst horrors in human history, it's not so simple.Hoss hauntingly puts on this persona of a woman oddly hopeful yet deeply traumatized. Nelly is a shaky, uncomfortable character to watch, yet fascinating all the same. In her encounters with Johnny, we have the benefit of knowing what she knows and getting to see how she handles being so close yet so emotionally far from the man she loved. We see her hopeful that Johnny will connect the dots, and despondent as she struggles to inhabit the woman she once was. Petzold writes so much emotional subtext into this story and Hoss hits every note — no pun intended (as her character was a singer before the war).Music plays a rather critical role in the film as well. In addition to Johnny and Nelly's past as musicians and their reunion in the film at the aptly named Phoenix night club where we hear lots of music, Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash's "Speak Low" figures prominently into the story, setting a distinct tone that echoes throughout the soundtrack. Its lyrics, as well, prove all too relevant to the story without being heavy handed at all. It is one of the better and most memorable uses of a song in recent memory."Phoenix" plays out uneventfully, but Petzold allows the drama to unfurl in poignant fashion, revealing a story about identity and love and how time can change it all, seemingly on a whim, causing irreversible changes in our lives. It's a sobering message, but one with a truth that runs deep.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

pegd-1 From the opening soundtrack on a blank screen, bass and piano, It was just a couple of chords, and I was hooked! The music of Kurt Weill's standard, Speak Low, is threaded throughout the movie. (Words by Ogden Nash). I was so taken by the song that I must have listened to A dozen or so versions, from Billie Holliday to Kiri Te Kanawa. And I kept coming back to Nina Hoss' version and Weill's version. I go on about this tune because it encapsulates so brilliantly all the melancholy of Phoenix. Post WW2 Berlin, a shell of itself, Holocaust survivors looking to repair their broken spirits, Berliners struggling to eke out a living, all played out against a woman searching for her past, for her lost husband. Phoenix, a Berlin nightclub, Phoenix rising from the ashes. It's all there. Thank you Petzold.

bagabaga77-1 Nina Hoss, who was brilliant in "Barbara", once again plays an injured woman trying to resurrect her life. In this case, she has been a victim in a concentration camp. However, what happens to Nelly could have happened in Cambodia (someone surviving the camps) or in Argentina (a desaparecida), etc. The story is universal: how can we, who have not been through such horror, possibly understand what it means. How can those who are trying to return to 'normal' life possibly succeed?Ronald Zehrfeld, as 'Johnny', Nelly's former husband, doesn't recognise her and bullies her into trying to become the Nelly who existed before the war. What an existential feat -- becoming one's self while being one's self. Johnny himself was a pianist, but his life has undergone dramatic changes and he is reduced to cleaning a nightclub for a living.Another character, played by Nina Kunzendorf, tries to persuade Nelly to join her in Israel in the Jewish homeland. Again, no one seems to care what Nelly wants, or what she has been through. This film is perfectly portrays the persecution of one victim by a whole cast of characters thinking only of themselves. For me it asked the question: how we will treat a growing number of humans on our planet who have been through similar hells?

witster18 Phoenix is a breathtaking, beautiful, and heart-breaking film. Sorting through some of the negative reviews - I wonder how a film tells a simple story, covering it's baseS, only to be called implausible or 'innacurate'. Someone mentioned something about the timeline of the theme song - like WE would know, or even care for the marginal mistake. As for the implausibility of the main plot twist - our lead actress looks like two different people when you see her half-way through compared to the end. Only passing as herself after a dramatic transformation. I'm a little dumbfounded as to how some could take one of the most amazing aspects of the story and somehow spin-it into a negative. The acting is superb, the look spot-on, and the film, despite its 'serious-post-war' drama hashtag, is surprisingly well-paced. Don't get me wrong - there is ZEro action in the film, but I was never bored and the film is the perfect length for this story. It understands it isn't epic - It's a forgotten, shameful story hidden in the rubble of an epic tragedy. Phoenix has crashed my top-25 for 2015(us release date/#18, but could higher). Granted, I have a soft spot for these foreign films that go unnoticed, especially with all the over- rated drivel coming out of Hollywood. Well worth a view -especially if you're in the mood for a well-made drama told with a stunning, realistic look. 72/100 solid. It's on Netflix at the time of this review. I'd disregard the it's unrealistic reviews. Couldn't disagree with that analysis more. I can recommend this subtle drama/thriller. She didn't look anything like herself when she ran back into Johnny, and Johnny believed whole-heartedly she was dead. That dispels all those criticisms. As for the hand-writing and other aspects - Johnny told her she would get 20,000$ if it worked. That's incentive enough to practice and try hard, so it's convincing in that way too.. let alone the performances which sell the whole thing anyway.