Jerichow (2008)

Jerichow feels like an early movie for Christian Petzold. One can see clearly his interest in ethical quandaries – certainly this is what all of his subsequent films will be about – but Jerichow is mostly just an intense melodrama with great performances by the three central figures. The ethical dilemmas the film explores really aren't that interesting.

Transit (2018)

Transit is haunting and very, very smart. Christian Petzold is such a good director. I really liked this and boasts some brilliant performances, especially Franz Rogowski. Furthermore, and most interestingly, Petzold has adapted Seghers' novel from its WWII setting to the present day, but we still have cleansing and occupation and terror. All of Petzold's films so far have been about World War II, but with this movie it is clear that he is asking us to think differently about World War II, and perhaps that none of his films has been about World War II at all. Instead, Petzold deals with serious ethical quandaries and real desperation.

Very Quick Phoenix Review

I wanted Phoenix to have more tension in it. It was supposed to be a suspense film, but as it was, it just didn't feel like much of one. I was really invested in the characters, but I was never quite sure what the stakes were. Perhaps it is unfair to say so, but I liked Petzold's prior film Barbara so much better.