Yella
Monday, March 31, 5:00pm, UNC Charlotte main campus, Denny 120
Director Christian Petzold, Germany. 2007/89 min. German, with English subtitles
Introduction by Kai Werbeck, Assistant Professor of German, UNC Charlotte. Discussion will follow screening.
A complex interrogation of post-Wall Germany, Christian Petzold’s thriller chronicles the journey of Yella, a woman who leaves her East German hometown for a promising job and a new life in the West, but is haunted by the past. When she gets to know Philipp, a smart executive at a private equity company in Hanover, she becomes his assistant and gets introduced to the merciless world of corporate capitalism. Quickly, her life turns into a waking nightmare that borders on the supernatural.
Reviews:
“Yella is a reserved young woman with unrevealed depths of intelligence, larceny and passion. Their gradual revelation makes this more than an ordinary thriller, in great part because of the performance of Nina Hoss in the title role.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“Strikes a perfect balance between corporate intrigue and metaphysical mystery; his 2007 drama is filled with suspense but ends in delicious ambiguity.” – J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
“This crisply made thriller begins as a harrowing tale of a young German woman stalked by her deranged ex-husband, but quickly turns into an investigation of the murkier depths of capitalism.” – Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
Clip from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7iZUwm7tVQ