Phoenix (2014 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Christian Petzold |
| Produced by | Florian Koerner von Gustorf Michael Weber |
| Written by | Christian Petzold Harun Farocki |
| Starring |
Nina Hoss Ronald Zehrfeld Nina Kunzendorf |
| Music by | Stefan Will |
| Cinematography | Hans Fromm |
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Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German English |
| Box office | $5.6 million |
Phoenix is a 2014 German drama film directed by Christian Petzold. Loosely adapted from the 1961 novel Le Retour des Cendres (English: The Return from the Ashes) by French author Hubert Monteilhet, the film stars Nina Hoss and Ronald Zehrfeld as Nelly and Johnny Lenz respectively.
Phoenix is set within Germany in the aftermath of World War II, where Nelly, a Jew who was able to survive an Auschwitz concentration camp, decides to go back to her husband Johnny in Berlin. She has had to have her face reconstructed due to a bullet wound, and her husband does not recognize her. The film marks the sixth collaboration between Petzold and Hoss, as well as being the second film in which Hoss and Zehrfeld star opposite each other after Barbara (2012), also directed by Petzold.
Phoenix was released in Germany on September 25, 2014 and in the United States on July 24, 2015. The film received significant critical acclaim, with praise going toward the film's suspenseful narrative, direction, Nina Hoss' performance, production design and its symbolic elements. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in North America by The Criterion Collection on April 26, 2016.
The film follows Nelly Lenz, a Holocaust survivor and former cabaret singer, who returns to Berlin after undergoing facial reconstruction surgery for damage caused by a bullet wound. Following the end of World War II and the liberation of the concentration camps, Nelly returns to Germany with her friend Lene. Here, Lene takes Nelly to a reconstructive plastic surgeon. Although Nelly tells the surgeon that she would like to look exactly like she used to, he is unable to fully recreate her old face and Nelly is disappointed with the final result.
Lene finds an apartment for her and Nelly. Since Nelly's family members all died during the war, Nelly has inherited a considerable amount of money. Lene suggests to Nelly that she collect the money and that the two of them travel to Palestine. She believes they will be safe there and can help with the creation of an independent Jewish state.
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