Barbara (***1/2)

Say “East Germany” to someone and it sounds nearly quaint, like other terms —Y2k, say — that seem in retrospect to have been obviously ephemeral. Other films I’ve seen set in the former German Democratic Republic — Goodbye Lenin,  The Lives of Others, and Beloved Berlin Wall — seem to reinforce that by taking place on the cusp of change, in Berlin. They rely on the fall of the Berlin Wall to provide a happy ending and a dramatic plot point. But, of course, the astonishing events of 1989 would not have been obvious until close to when they happened. This suspenseful drama is set in a rural area and takes place much earlier, in 1982. Its title character (Nina Hoss) is a doctor whose arrival in a remote town stirs the curiosity of her male colleague (Ronald Zehrfeld).

Barbara’s past, and the reason she has left Berlin, are mysterious. Barbara is a reserved person, by nature as much as by necessity, one senses. It would be difficult to make a film about a place like East Germany that does not reflect the near total control of the state over the everyday lives of its citizens. But the film reflects not only the most dramatic aspects of state oppression, but the efforts of decent people to live their lives in ordinary ways. A major subplot concerns a young woman forced into a work camp, but in some ways a scene in which Barbara’s apartment is searched is more unsettling. As government functionaries calmly search the meager space for contraband, Barbara seems almost equally calm (though she is hiding something, and so likely not); their visit is no surprise at all.

Revelations of both character and story unfold in ways that make the quiet film more absorbing as it goes along. Difficult choices lie at the heart of the drama. I wanted someone to be able to tell these people that if they could just hang on for a few years, they’d be fine. But this movie is a reminder that the future is neither assured nor predictable.

IMDb link

viewed 10/24/12 7:10 pm [Philadelphia Film Festival screening] and reviewed 10/25/12–3/7/13