East Germany in 1980 was a place of great paranoia: who could be trusted? No one. Definitely not friends, not even family. They could all be betrayers. The Berlin Wall hadn’t come down and sinister surveillance, persecution and suspicion ruled.
In “Barbara” by award winning writer/director Christian Petzold, a prestigious doctor finds herself banished to a remote country town for having the nerve to apply for an exit visa from the GDR. Everywhere she goes, she’s watched. Every move is recorded.
From the very first scene in “Barbara,” (played brilliantly by Nina Hoss), the conspiratorial questions are raised. Why are the Secret Police and her medical colleagues watching her? Why was Barbara incarcerated? Why does she refuse to be even one second early for work? And what is in the packages Barbara hides on her country bike rides?
Nearly discovered on one of her reconnaissance runs, Barbara is strip-searched. Humiliated and hounded, she plots her escape from the hell she’s living. She’ll need help, but she’ll have to trust someone…could it be her fellow doctor Andre (Ronald Zehrfeld)? Well, he seems to be pretty buddy-buddy with the Stasi police. And how does Andre know where Barbara lives? They’ve only just met.
In a creepy seemingly innocent discussion (with absolutely marvelous subtext) over a Rembrandt anatomy painting, Andre tries to intimidate Barbara over the powers of observation.
Director Petzold is very conscious of what he wants a film viewer to observe. He knows just what to include in a shot, and even more importantly, frames shots to maximize anxiety, fear, or empathy. For instance, even Barbara’s decrepit apartment is creepy and when her landlady draws her down into the cellar, it invites one to shout: “Don’t do it!” Alfred Hitchcock pioneered camera techniques in suspense and psychological thrillers, and if not a Hitchcock admirer, then Petzold must surely be an unwitting disciple. Film fans will want to pay attention to how Petzold holds tension in not only a scene, but throughout the film.
Barbara faces many obstacles in her desperation to escape from medical purgatory. With all the built-up tension, all the suspense, you won’t see the big reveal coming. Barbara has to make a life-changing decision. When she does, it is shocking.
All questions raised, even in the first scene are answered. Suspense is held until the last possible moment, what a tight tight script!
Winner of Berlin’s Silver Bear Award, “Barbara” is Germany’s 2012 Foreign Film Oscar submission. Comparisons will undoubtedly be made between “Barbara” and Germany’s 2006 Oscar winning “The Lives of Others.” The only similarity is the context of both films. “Barbara” is much different; it will surely be a global commercial success.
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“Barbara” will screen at 4:30 p.m on Saturday, December 8 at The Screen on the campus of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design.
More information and complete program and schedule, please visit the Santa Fe Film Festival website. To purchase tickets, visit TicketsSantaFe.org.
