Phoenix

CinemaSerf

With much of Germany in ruins following the end of the War, "Nelly" (Nina Hoss) returns to a Berlin that is almost as unrecognisable to her as her recently reconstructed face is to everyone else. She hasn't any money, but the kindly "Mrs. Winter" (Nina Kunzendorf) and her housekeeper "Elizabeth" (Imogen Kogge) take her in. It's whilst "Nelly" is revisiting some of their pre-war haunts that she encounters "Johnny" (Ronald Zehrfeld). He doesn't recognise his long-lost wife any more, but curiously suggests to this stranger that she does resemble her a little and that she could make $20,000 if she agreed to pose as his wife and help him claim her (own) inheritance. Initially unhappy with this proposal, she quickly realises that it could give her a chance to discover some of the truth behind her own arrest and imprisonment as well as his role in any or all of that. Meantime, "Mrs. Winter" has been doing some digging of her own and having armed "Nelly" with quite a crucial piece of information, she is soon in a quite an emotional quandary. As ever with Hoss, she does much of her acting with gesture and expression, and here even whilst under a sea of facial bandages she manages to convey an impression of vulnerability that evolves into something altogether more confident. The charismatic Zehrfeld also delivers strongly here and despite the venality of his proposal and certain other slightly disreputable things we learn about his character, I still couldn't quite bring myself to dislike him as I probably ought to have done. The denouement isn't as conclusive as I would have liked, but perhaps that's for the best as maybe reconciliation - and a degree of dawning realisation - is most fitting.