Friday, December 5, 2008

Yella


Yella is a film with a twist. More experienced film viewers may see it coming, but it's subtle enough that it will catch most people by surprise. This film from Germany toplines actress Nina Hoss, and she carries the movie with such moxie you want to see more of her films released here.
Yella has a stalker ex-husband who previously tried to kill both of them by driving off a bridge into the river below. After the incident Yella can't get through a business meeting without being distracted by weird sounds or, say, the sight of water in a glass. Her current boss values her expertise at crunching numbers and a current acquisition requires her to call out a competing firm who's trying to overvalue their assets. But the business at hand comes second to Yella's state of mind.
Director Christian Petzold constantly reminds the audience of Yella's fragile sense of reality, repeatedly framing her riding in a car, or with her head surrounded by light or glass. There's a mystery going on in Yella, but whether it's her stalker or the new corporate subterfuge she's engaged in only becomes clear at the very end. Hoss is so commanding at depicting her confusion that you can't take your eyes off her.




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