6 Movies Directed by Christian Petzold

Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2003-09-25

Languages:

German

Countries:

Germany

Runtime:

90 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (784 Reviews)

Genres:

Drama

Fullplot:

Philipp Gerber is a smart, but self-satisfied car salesman. In an inattentive moment at the wheel of his car, he runs over a biker and drives away. As he has feelings of guilt, he tries to find out more about the accident's victim and learns that the boy lies seriously injured in a hospital. Philipp wants to tell his mother Laura Reiser the truth, but he doesn't. After a carefree holiday with his girlfriend Katja, he learns that the boy is dead. Meanwhile, Laura staggers between grief and the desire for revenge. One evening, she can't bear it any more and jumps off a bridge, but Philipp saves her life...

Gespenster

Gespenster

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2005-09-15

Languages:

German, French

Countries:

Germany, France

Runtime:

85 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.9 (1016 Reviews)

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Harun Farocki

Christian Petzold

Fullplot:

Nina, an end-of-teenage orphan with mental problems, starts a new job as a garden cleaner when she meets Toni. They fell in love with each other, but soon Toni starts betraying Nina. In the meantime, Francoise is picked up at a psychic department of a Berlin hospital by her husband, Pierre. After seeing Nina, Francoise believes that she has found her kidnapped daughter Marie, but neither Toni nor Pierre believe her. Nina is unsure about what to think...

Yella

Yella

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2008-05-16

Languages:

German

Countries:

Germany

Runtime:

89 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.7 (2051 Reviews)

Fullplot:

Christian Petzold's drama deals with a woman, who leaves her hometown for a promising job and a new life, but is haunted by the truths of the past. As her marriage to Ben broke and her professional career has no future in her native town in the Eastern part of Germany, Yella has decided to search for a job in the West. When she gets to know Philipp, a smart executive at a private equity company in Hanover, she becomes his assistant and gets involved into the world of ruthless and big business. Realizing her dreams could come true with Philipp's help, she starts hearing voices and sounds from her past, which menace her new and better life...

Jerichow

Jerichow

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2009-01-08

Languages:

German, Turkish

Countries:

Germany

Runtime:

93 min

IMDB Ratings:

(1531 Reviews)

Genres:

Drama

Fullplot:

The dishonorably discharged Afghanistan veteran Thomas returns to his home village of Jerichow. Ali, a local Turkish-German businessman, owner of a snack-bar chain, hires him as a driver. That's when Thomas meets Laura, his Turkish boss's young and attractive wife. A classic love triangle is born, unfolding in desolate northeast Germany, where thick forests suddenly end on cliffs overlooking the Baltic Sea. Caught between guilt and freedom, between passion and reason, the protagonists have no hopes for fulfillment of their dreams.

Barbara

Barbara

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2012-03-08

Languages:

German

Countries:

Germany

Runtime:

105 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

7.1 (7926 Reviews)

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Christian Petzold (screenplay)

Harun Farocki (collaborator on screenplay)

Fullplot:

In 1980s East Germany, Barbara is a Berlin doctor banished to a country medical clinic for applying for an exit visa. Deeply unhappy with her reassignment and fearful of her co-workers as possible Stasi informants, Barbara stays aloof, especially from the good natured clinic head, Andre. Instead, Barbara snatches moments with her lover as she secretly prepares to defect one day. Despite her plans, Barbara learns more about her life that puts her desires and the people around her in a new light. With her changing perspective, Barbara finds herself facing a painful moral dilemma that forces her to choose what she values.

Phoenix

Phoenix

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2015-07-24

Languages:

German, English

Countries:

Germany, Poland

Runtime:

98 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (3452 Reviews)

Genres:

DramaHistory

Cast:

Writer:

Christian Petzold (screenplay)

Harun Farocki

Hubert Monteilhet (novel)

Fullplot:

Nelly Lenz, a Jewish singer, has survived the Nazi concentration camps but at what cost? She is disfigured and has had to undergo facial surgery. Back in what is left of Berlin, accompanied by her faithful friend Lene, she has only one thing in mind, finding Johnny, her musician husband in the ruins of the city. She wants to know if he still loves her and if he has betrayed her, as Lene claims he has. She does meet him but Johnny does not recognize her. Worse, he asks her to impersonate... Nelly, with a view to grabbing her inheritance

Become a Movie Insider

Join our mailing list and get access to expert analysis, trivia, and recommendations that will elevate your movie-watching experience.

View our privacy policy.