Welcome to the kickoff of “Crossing the Streams” where each week I will bring to you a movie that is available via one of the many streaming services at your disposal, from Netflix to Crackle and Hulu Plus to HBO Go. I’m going to try and take a look at movies that aren’t possibly in the know, while also maybe taking a look at some exclusive series and projects that are found only on those services. This week I’m presenting one of my top movies from 2015, an international film from Germany entitled Phoenix. Phoenix can be found to stream on Netflix and I urge you to do so, but I’ll get more into that. 
Life can be devastating at times; to the point that you’d rather die. Tragedy that brings us to that point often shapes us and molds us. We have to push through and rediscover who we are. Think of this in the context of your personal life, but also think about it in the context of those affected by large-scale tragedy. The Holocaust, for example. The Holocaust is still one of the darkest periods of time in humanity. Now, think of those survivors – the ones who did make it out of the camps. Where would they be? Mentally? Emotionally? How would they respond to the people they loved and the people they left behind? In many ways, their personal life was put on pause while the rest of the world kept going. Now, on top of that, what if you had been physically scarred during this time? Now you have both the internal and external dropping down on top of your psyche. This is the lead in to Phoenix; the story of a woman trying to cope and re-integrate into the world she was torn from.
Phoenix sets its tone very early – bringing in noir influences to shadow the events we see. It is the story of Nelly Lenz, who has survived the Holocaust and has the scars to prove it. She has to undergo facial reconstruction thanks to a bullet wound. Nelly is being escorted through all of this by her friend Lene. Lene helps to transition Nelly from the camps, to the hospital, to an apartment in Berlin. Lene is very protective of her friend and worried about what she will do upon her return to Berlin. You see, Nelly had previously been married before going to the camps and with her return to freedom she hopes to rediscover her husband. Lene doesn’t quite trust Nelly’s husband and questions much about him and urges Nelly to do the same. And so, the stage is set for our drama to take place; the mystery is a foot and the players are all ready.
As I stated, Phoenix sets its tone early by implementing many of the visual aesthetic choices of the film noir. Shadows and darkness are used to great effect which ultimately backs the themes at play. Many of our characters are uncertain or they are left in the shadows by the decisions that other characters made. Primarily, we see this in Nelly.
Who doesn’t fully understand the events that led to her being captured, nor does she fully understand the choices that Lene and Johnny, Nelly’s husband, make at times. Nelly’s is still dealing with a lot psychologically due to her time in the camps as well as having to go through surgery. Much of this confusion that she is feeling, along with some of the darkness and emptiness as well, is reflected greatly in the mise-en-scene of the film thanks greatly to the cinematography of Hans Gramm and the production design of Kade Gruber.
It is a beautiful films that does a lot with interior settings. Much of the film takes place in doors, and usually between just a couple of characters. While some may not be fond of this direction, I think it works greatly to develop the atmosphere and mystery of the film. Christian Petzold’s direction is continuously on point as he lifts much from Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo. He pays much homage to that film and it shapes much of the driving narrative at work in Phoenix. If you haven’t seen Vertigo then you’re doing yourself a disservice, but it won’t kill the power or impact of Phoenix. If you have seen it though, then Phoenix will soar even higher for you (haha, I’m punny).
I don’t have much to say to detract from the film. I think the movie works on every level. Nina Hoss’s performance as Nelly Linz is showstopping. She plays fragile and damaged so well, but she is also able to pull off the turns that the character goes through. Hoss leads an extremely talented cast who really have to drive this film from A to Z. It is a small film in many ways, even though it is grandiose thematically and it resonates with the viewer on many levels.
Final Decree: 9/10. The final scene of this movie is one of the best scenes of any film from 2015. It does so much without doing much at all. It is a powerful moment that turns a good movie into a great movie. Phoenix also does a good job of bringing you into the foreign language element, as much of the opening sequences are presented in English before we transition to Berlin. I think it is a good film to introduce you to international cinema if you aren’t comfortable with subtitles and things like that. Once the film really got going, the subtitles were no longer a distraction and I was able to keep up with no issue. I highly recommend Phoenix and urge you to go give it a look.
Thank you so much for checking out “Crossing the Streams”; hopefully we can adventure through the internet and find all sorts of stories together. Until next week, if you want to keep up with me, you can follow me on TWITTER or follow me over on LETTERBOXD.
Arthur is a creator of content, lover of movies, and father of dogs. If you want to keep the conversation going, then click here to follow Arthur on Twitter. If you would like to keep up with what Arthur is watching, then head over to Letterboxd and give him a follow!
