Barbara (2012)

Barbara: Directed by Christian Petzold. With Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Rainer Bock, Christina Hecke. A doctor working in 1980s East Germany finds herself banished to a small country hospital.

“It looks like THE LIVES OF OTHERS is going to spearhead a cycle of films about victims of the East German secret police and that sounds like a good subject along the lines of the US conspiracy thrillers. This one has an interesting enough premise. Out of favor doctor Hoss (THE WHITE MASSAI) is sent to a provincial hospital, where the friendly fellow medico may be keeping a report on her. The official who keeps on calling in the lady with the rubber glove to do cavity searches certainly is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe sub-plot of the teenage girl from the socialist work camp is strong enough but the way things are wound up is not all that convincing and tension has slacked by then.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eProduction values are good enough but the film lacks the feeling of time and place that would make it register.”