Petzold, a leading light of the current generation of young German filmmakers, succeeds in making the modern world strange again.

| Nov 14, 2013

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 18, 2011

This unusual film has all the appearance of simply being a well-done drama, but there is considerably more on writer-director Christian Petzold's mind.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 19, 2008

This crisply made thriller begins as a harrowing tale of a young German woman stalked by her deranged ex-husband, but quickly turns into an investigation of the murkier depths of capitalism.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 5, 2008

Strikes a perfect balance between corporate intrigue and metaphysical mystery; his 2007 drama is filled with suspense but ends in delicious ambiguity.

| Aug 1, 2008

Yella is a reserved young woman with unrevealed depths of intelligence, larceny and passion. Their gradual revelation makes this more than an ordinary thriller, in great part because of the performance of Nina Hoss in the title role.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 1, 2008

The German offering Yella begins with an utterly gripping first 15 minutes, follows with a passable drama and ends with a big disappointment.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 31, 2008

An import non-thriller so enigmatic and subtle that it's inert.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jul 11, 2008

Makes for interesting viewing.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 16, 2008

Christian Petzold's disquieting German thriller feels modest while you're watching it, but makes a stronger-than-expected impact.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 16, 2008

Yella is the kind of movie that tantalizes the mind with possibilities without solving the puzzle.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 16, 2008

Though the film attests that the director can masterfully dredge up metaphysical dread, it also proves that he needs to learn to avoid easy ways out.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/6 | May 14, 2008

It's one of those films that keeps swirling in your brain once it's done -- thanks both to its somewhat unresolved ending and to the many subtle themes touched on throughout.

| May 12, 2008

Far less concerned with character development than with bludgeoning clues to the drama's true nature.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 11, 2008

This disquieting parable about trust and risk wrong-foots us at every turn.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 21, 2007

Towards the end the symbolism gets heavy-handed, but by then the film has already cast its coldly mesmerising spell.

| Sep 21, 2007

A neat metaphysical thriller.

| Sep 21, 2007

Exquisitely frigid, menacing, disquieting, with a storyline that keeps you off-balance, marred only by a slightly hackneyed dnouement.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 21, 2007

A haunting suspense drama, which compares favourably with some of the best continental cinema.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 21, 2007

An expertly crafted thriller which offers a pessimistic, though deeply rewarding, glimpse of a society being haunted by its own past.

| Original Score: 4/6 | Sep 21, 2007