Barbara

Barbara
Country: Germany
Director: Christian Petzold
This spy/love story, set a decade before the fall of the Berlin Wall, is a seductive, slow-burning pleasure. Barbara is a pediatric surgeon transferred for disciplinary reasons from the city to a post in a tiny country hospital. But this community is beset with paranoia and citizen surveillance, like the East Berlin from The Lives of Others. The superb German actress Nina Hoss casts a spell in the lead role. Barbara seems to have an elaborate protective coating, but eventually draws us behind the mask into a world of clandestine plans and secret hopes. Gorgeous film with plenty of twists and political intrigue. (2012; 105 min)