Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Nina Kunzendorf, Michael Maertens, Imogen Kogge, Kirsten Block, Uwe Preuss, Eva Bay, Jeff Burrell, Megan Gay, Claudia Geisler-Bading, Daniela Holtz, Max Hopp, Nikola Kastner.

For many the thought of being able to start anew after the ravages of World War Two were enough to change their name and what they may have done during the dark days of brutal darkness that shrouded Europe, the tyranny, the domination and the suffering, either endured or administered. For many that survived the absolute horrors of the concentration camps and the sickening depravity that humanity can sink to in the death camp of Auschwitz, a change of name was not enough, some had to undergo surgery to wipe away the terrors visited upon their faces and their bodies at the hands of the Nazis, to rise if they could like a Phoenix from the ashes. .

For club singer Nelly Lenz, the brutality of war is acute, it has been devastating, on her body, on her identity and on the fragile nature of the mind. Rescued by a friend and bought back to a just as destroyed Berlin to rest before making her way to the new state of Israel, Nelly Lenz is haunted by the prospect of having been betrayed by her husband.

There are always those, perhaps more keenly amongst the younger generations, who suggest the events of those times hold nothing new in which to learn, to gain perspective of. Yet in Phoenix, the lessons are there to be heeded, that greed in any shape or form is still an emotional need that should be distrusted and kept at arms bay, by getting too close to the fire that may have scorched your wings before, the chance to be reborn is one that arguably might not happen.

The film truly hinges upon Nina Hoss’ and Ronald Zehrfeld’s performances, it is the slow measure of belief and the subsuming nature of assumption that carries it off with calm measure and guile and one in which makes the final pay off worth the wait in what could be seen as a slow, but nonetheless deserved portrayal of revenge.

Nina Hoss captures the feeling of resented power and injustice perfectly and deserves much credit as the truth of the Phoenix is revealed. It is a startling, almost sudden transformation which reasserts life and which makes the cinema goer understand the nature of holding back information and truth for as long as possible.

Phoenix is a good film, well paced and authentically driven, one that shows that life, like truth is a well preserved animal.

Ian D. Hall