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Phoenix

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Phoenix (2015)

July. 24,2015
|
7.3
|
PG-13
| Drama
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German-Jewish cabaret singer Nelly survived Auschwitz but had to undergo reconstructive surgery as her face was disfigured. Without recognizing Nelly, her former husband Johnny asks her to help him claim his wife’s inheritance. To see if he betrayed her, she agrees, becoming her own doppelganger.

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Chatverock
2015/07/24

Takes itself way too seriously

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Pluskylang
2015/07/25

Great Film overall

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Kayden
2015/07/26

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

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Dana
2015/07/27

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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Brighton Dude
2015/07/28

At first I was quite resistant to this film. I thought, surely plastic surgery was not very good at the end of WWII? I thought surely there would be recognition where there apparently wasn't? Then I began to get it. I saw the poetry in this and how well it was handled. I saw the portrayal of an attempt to reconstruct not a face but of a life, a way of being, before it was destroyed by the Nazis.That destruction went very far, inevitably corrupting people and causing them to betray one another.Really this is a very powerful film and I urge anyone to watch it. At present this has a rating of 7.3 here at IMDb but this just tells us how films that appeal to teenagers tend to get high ratings whereas unfortunately truly great films like this one do not do so well.

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Movie_Muse_Reviews
2015/07/29

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

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gizmomogwai
2015/07/30

Phoenix goes to a time that haunts Germans and Jews alike- the aftermath of the Holocaust- and manages to do something different and make an impact. The film follows survivor Nelly, whose face has been destroyed in the camps and whose facial reconstruction has left her unrecognizable. She's still beautiful, as a friend points out, but that's not enough- she is no longer herself. She finds her husband, and disbelieving her friend's claim he's the one who betrayed her, stays close to him without revealing her identity. He notices her and by coincidence decides to make her over as the old Nelly, in order to collect her inheritance.In making a woman over in the likeness of another, and in fact the two women are one, Phoenix bears similarities to Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958). But the two films go different places with the concept- Phoenix follows the woman, her desire to reclaim her old life and identity, her unwillingness to accept the truth about her husband, how or if she will take her revenge. (Vertigo is more a story about obsession). Her friend gives her a revolver for protection- you'd think that spells out the end, but the end is rather different, chilling and stunning. Phoenix is a film with a powerful voice and meaning, and shouldn't be overlooked.

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CinemaClown
2015/07/31

A poignant, heartfelt & gripping story of love, loss, betrayal & retribution, Phoenix is crafted with composure, narrated with sensitivity, brims with suppressed emotions and is further elevated by a smashing lead performance from Nina Hoss to finish as a a heartbreaking love story & a satisfying revenge drama.Set at the aftermath of the Second World War, Phoenix tells the story of a disfigured concentration camp survivor who after undergoing a facial reconstruction surgery for damage caused by a bullet wound returns to Berlin to look for her husband whom she still loves but who also may have played a role in betraying her to the Nazis.Co-written & directed by Christian Petzold, the film is attention grabbing from the first sequence & sets its main plot in a very calm but steady manner. The post-World War atmosphere is wonderfully recreated, the camera always keeps its focus on the characters than the surroundings they are in, editing unfolds the plot at a relaxed pace while music remains in sync with transpiring events.The performances however add a great deal to the story plus the scripted characters exhibit some welcome depth which its cast is able to explore quite conveniently in their given roles. Leading the entire cast from the front is Nina Hoss in a terrific turn as the Holocaust survivor and her chemistry with both Ronald Zehrfeld & Nina Kunzendorf, who play her husband & friend respectively, simply clicks.On an overall scale, Phoenix brims with great emotional depth, compelling characters & a riveting storyline and is one amongst the better films of its year. The screenplay alone is strong enough to carry the whole picture all the way but the expertly carried out technical aspects & sincere inputs from its cast adds enhancements of its own to the entire experience. Emotionally resonant & thoroughly fine-tuned, this German drama is worth a shot.

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