paula beer – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MIROIRS NO. 3 – Review by Diane Carson

April 21, 2026April 26, 2026 Diane Carson Adriana von Franqué, Barbara Auer, Christian Petzold, Hanns Fromm, Miroirs No. 3, paula beer

A tragedy lies at the heart of German writer/director Christian Petzold’s Miroirs No. 3. Surviving a catastrophic car crash in a rural area, Laura (Paula Beer) accepts the support and comfort provided by Betty (Barbara Auer), a nearby resident who struggles to reclaim her own emotional health as much as she helps Laura cope with her languor. That is to say that the recent death of Betty’s daughter has left her as uninterested in life as Laura seems to be. Both experience an omnipresent ennui. Shaken from the accident, distraught, Laura asks to stay with Betty, who agrees. Thus begins a psychological drama of initially mystifying bonds and haunted memories.

Reviews

STELLA: A LIFE (STELLA. EIN LEBEN) – Review by Betsy Pickle

September 24, 2025September 26, 2025 Betsy Pickle german films, Katja Riemann, Lukas Miko, paula beer, Stella: A Life, Stella. Ein leben)

There’s irony in the title of the German film Stella: A Life (Stella. Ein leben), a dramatic thriller that looks at the Holocaust from an out-of-the-ordinary perspective. Many dramatic films depicting the Holocaust treat the setting as though it’s a history lesson, giving it a reverent patina. Director Kilian Riedhof tears through the streets of Berlin with urgency, terror and suspense, coming up for air in brief spurts. Riedhof, who co-wrote the screenplay with Marc Blobaum and Jan Braren, insists on flesh-and-blood action, and the realism is intense. Viewers will feel the violence.

Reviews

UNDINE – Review by Liz Braun

June 3, 2021June 4, 2021 Liz Braun Christian Petzold, Franz Rogowski, german films, Jacob Matschenz, paula beer, Undine

A fairy tale gets a modern retelling in Undine, a symbol-laden love story from German director Christian Petzold (Phoenix; Transit). The 19th century Undine (by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque) was a water nymph who marries a human to get a soul; there are strings attached, however. It’s the same territory as Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid, or any other dark fable prior to being Disneyfied.

Reviews

TRANSIT – Review by Leslie Combemale

February 21, 2019 Leslie Combemale 0 Comments anna seghers, christian petzhold, franz progowski, paula beer, transit

Transit, an arthouse release by German auteur Christian Petzold, is based on the 1942 novel by Anna Seghers of the same name, but this adaptation throws it into historical limbo. It creates an eerie cautionary tale, by setting it without further explanation in the here and now, although in truth it exists out of time.

Reviews

NEVER LOOK AWAY – Review by Diane Carson

February 20, 2019 Diane Carson 0 Comments Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, never look away, paula beer, tom schilling

Writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “em>Never Look Away is an ambitious film, succeeding in some ways, failing in others. At its essence, it questions the theoretical nature of art, both the stimulus and achievement of the painter and the contribution to the society it serves. However, its three hours plus bogs down in melodrama, weak acting and muddled ideas.