Phoenix

Critics Consensus

Tense, complex, and drenched in atmosphere, Phoenix is a well-acted, smartly crafted war drama that finds writer-director Christian Petzold working at peak power.

98%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 125

78%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 12,907
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Movie Info

A spellbinding mystery of identity, illusion, and deception unfolds against the turmoil of post-World War II Germany in the stunning new film from acclaimed director Christian Petzold (Barbara, Jerichow). Nelly (Nina Hoss), a German-Jewish nightclub singer, has survived a concentration camp, but with her face disfigured by a bullet wound. After undergoing reconstructive surgery, Nelly emerges with a new face, one similar but different enough that her former husband, Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), doesn't recognize her. Rather than reveal herself, Nelly walks into a dangerous game of duplicity and disguise as she tries to figure out if the man she loves may have been the one who betrayed her to the Nazis. Evoking the shadows and haunted mood of post-war Berlin, Phoenix weaves a complex tale of a nation's tragedy and a woman's search for answers as it builds towards an unforgettable, heart-stopping climax. (C) IFC Films

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Cast

Nina Hoss
as Nelly Lenz
Ronald Zehrfeld
as Johannes "Johnny"
Nina Kunzendorf
as Lene Winter
Michael Maertens
as Arzt
Imogen Kogge
as Elisabeth
Felix Römer
as Geiger
Felix Romer
as Violinist
Trystan Pütter
as Soldier On Bridge
Uwe Preuss
as Club Owner
Valerie Koch
as Dancer
Eva Bay
as Dancer
Jeff Burrell
as Soldier in Club
Nikola Kastner
as Young Woman
Max Hopp
as Man
Megan Gay
as Central Office Staff Member
Kirsten Block
as Hostess
Frank Seppeler
as Alfred
Daniela Holtz
as Sigrid
Kathrin Wehlisch
as Monika
Michael Wenninger
as Walther
Claudia Geisler
as Frederike
Tim Lorenz
as Phoenix Club Band (Drums)
Paul Kleber
as Phoenix Club Band (Double Bass)
Ralf Denker
as Phoenix Club Band (Guitar)
Valentin Gregor
as Phoenix Club Band (Violin)
Stefan Will
as Phonix Club Band (Piano)
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Critic Reviews for Phoenix

All Critics (125) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (122) | Rotten (3)

  • Both a powerful allegory for post-war regeneration and a rich Hitchcockian tale of mistaken identity.

    Dec 14, 2015 | Full Review…

    Jordan Mintzer

    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic

  • Life is a bombed-out, soulless cabaret in Christian Petzold's Phoenix, a haunting portrait of identity, loss and the search for answers in post-WWII Berlin.

    Dec 14, 2015 | Full Review…

    Scott Foundas

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Everything in Phoenix is designed to prepare us for the knockout ending, which couldn't be simpler in itself, but has the force of a long-delayed emotional release.

    Dec 9, 2015 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Jake Wilson

    Sydney Morning Herald
    Top Critic

  • Sometimes implausible and always engrossing, "Phoenix" takes us to postwar Berlin, a shell of a city where concentration camp survivor Nelly is a shell of herself.

    Aug 20, 2015 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    David Lewis

    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic

  • You may not buy all the story twists, but perhaps the script is not meant to be taken literally.

    Aug 13, 2015 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    John Hartl

    Seattle Times
    Top Critic

  • There is intrigue. There is suspense. Guilt -- a man's guilt, a nation's -- hangs heavy in the air.

    Aug 12, 2015 | Full Review…

    Steven Rea

    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (125)

Audience Reviews for Phoenix

  • Jan 03, 2016
    The plot is so nuanced, the characters so keenly observed and realized that it's shocking that the movie is also so economical . . . No moment is wasted as the film builds to what I can only describe as a perfect ending.
    Alec B Super Reviewer
  • Sep 27, 2015
    It is a shame that most moviegoers will not see this film because it is one of the best films of 2015 and the best acting by either male or female so far this year. Nina Hoss is terrific in this and in the two that I have had the pleasure to watch her in (Barbara and A Most Wanted Man). An interesting story about an interesting woman during post war Berlin. (9-27-15)
    John C Super Reviewer
  • Sep 02, 2015
    There's a lot of ambiguity here. Pale and thin, she has returned like a ghost in search of her past. She visits the bombed out rubble of her bygone home like a specter floating over the ruins. Nina was a singer before the war. Her husband, a pianist. As a Holocaust survivor, Nelly has risen from the ashes of the past. Phoenix symbolically describes her progress, but it's also the name of the club at which she finds her husband working. Kurt Weill's melody, "Speak Low" is a recurring score that pops up here and there. The tone of the drama is pensive and atmospherically haunting, but it's very vague. The way these two souls interact is a long drawn out game of deception and remembrance. You'll have lots of questions as the narrative unfolds. What exactly are these people thinking? Their tentative relationship is based on cryptic intentions. Director Christian Petzold keeps all of these questions unanswered on purpose as Nina goes in search of her former self and for truth. Just simmer for awhile in the pensive mood. The mystery ultimately builds to a perfectly constructed moment of clarity. fastfilmreviews.com
    Mark H Super Reviewer
  • May 09, 2015
    A sort of realist The Skin I Live In, beguilingly made and acted and with a breathtaking and simple final shot. Bravo.
    Daniel P Super Reviewer
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