Barbara

     The setting of this film is East Germany of the 1980’s.  Barbara is a Berlin doctor banished to a remote rural hospital because she applied for an exit visa.  She is frustrated and only finds happiness in her secret meetings with her West German boyfriend, Jorg.  He is formulating an escape plan for Barbara to leave for West Germany.  The authorities are wary of her leaving and they come to her apartment to search for money multiple times.  Andre is another doctor at the clinic sent there from a large hospital because of a mistake with new equipment for premature babies.  Stella comes to the clinic with meningitis and she is pregnant.  Barbara and Andre work closely together to treat this patient and also a young man who tried to commit suicide. 

     Barbara and Andre go through a lot of difficulties because of the political situation in East Germany at this time.  Just across the border is freedom and professional advancement.  On the East side there is constant surveillance, informants everywhere and you cannot be yourself in public.  For quite a while you don’t know what Barbara is going to do about leaving and don’t expect anything in East Germany to be humorous.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

105 min, Drama directed by Christian Petzold with Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Rainer Bock, Christian Hecke, Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Mark Waschke.

Note:  Blockbuster 5%, imdb 7.2 out of 10, 93% critic 77% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.