Phoenix Review
By David Kempler
This Phoenix Almost Soars
In post-World War II Germany, a woman with a heavily bandaged head looks on while a doctor explains to her friend that the wounded woman will benefit from his skills as a reconstructive surgeon. Beneath those bandages it is clear that she has been severely injured.
The injured woman is Nelly Lenz (Nina Hoss), who was shot in the face while captive in Auschwitz. Her friend is Lene, (Nina Kunzendorf), who is looking after her. Post-surgery, Nelly looks quite good - beautiful, in fact. I don't think that surgery on her, even if it were to take place today in a state-of -the-art hospital, would have turned out nearly as well. Clearly, we are meant to look past this unlikely outcome.
At first, Nelly is understandably hesitant during her recovery from surgery. She is also dealing with the news that all of her immediate family has been murdered by the Nazis during the war. A glistening ray of hope and joy is delivered to her in the news that her husband, Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), has survived and is working in Berlin. She looks forward to seeing him until Lene informs her that Johnny is the reason that Nelly was captured and sent to a concentration camp. Nelly doesn't quite believe Lene, but whatever she is feeling, she still wants to see Johnny.
When she finds Johnny, he doesn't recognize the new Nelly and she doesn't let him know who she is. It is now a game for her to learn the truth about Johnny. It doesn't take long for her to understand the truth. Johnny does realize that Nelly does look a bit like his wife and hatches a plan to make her look more like his wife so that he can fool the authorities and re-claim the fortune that the two of them left behind before the war.
Christian Petzold, who wrote and directed "Phoenix", does an excellent job of building suspense and the ending is an unexpected pleasure, always a big plus in a drama of enormous internal conflicts. The problem is that there are a few instances in the story where it is near impossible that it could play out the way he presents it. However, it is all done so well, including a great performance by Ms. Hoss, that this phoenix almost soars.
