Barbara

Barbara is a 2012 German drama directed by Christian Petzold, who wrote the screenplay with Harun Farocki. Set in East Germany in 1980, it follows a pediatric surgeon in East Berlin who is sent to a small provincial hospital as punishment for applying to leave the country. Separated from her lover in the West, who is preparing her escape, she keeps her distance from her new colleagues, uncertain who among them might be informing for the state security service. Her supervisor at the clinic, André, complicates her plans through the professional trust and personal attention he shows her, and she cannot tell whether his interest is genuine or part of the surveillance surrounding her.

Nina Hoss plays Barbara, with Ronald Zehrfeld as André and Rainer Bock among the supporting cast. The film was released in March 2012 and runs 105 minutes. It earned 7.2 out of 10 on IMDb from around 17,000 votes and 7.1 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 370 votes, while a critics' rating of 7.8 out of 10 across 83 reviews places it above both audience scores. The worldwide box office of about 7 million dollars is substantial for a German-language drama of this scale.

Barbara sits fourth among the nine features Petzold has directed, arriving between Jerichow and Phoenix. It continues his collaboration with Hoss, who also starred in several of his other films, and it is one of the titles that established him as a leading figure in contemporary German cinema.