The main focus is on the mysterious Barbara Wolff played by Nina Hoss, a doctor who has been banished from a hospital in Berlin to work in a provincial clinic in the north as a result of her wish to escape to the West to be with her lover. Due to her distrustful and suspicious nature, she embodies the prevalent feelings of many Germans at the time. Throughout the film, we witness her inability, or perhaps reluctance, to let her guard down as she is kept under strict surveillance by the Stasi (East-German (not so)secret police). Barbara's uncertainties grow as she suspects her co-worker and later lover, André Reiser played by Ronald Zehrfeld is reporting her behaviour to the Stasi.
Throughout the film she's been devising a way to escape to the West, and just waits for the right moment. I think it's this waiting, and the dullness of life in the East, that creates so much tension ! Everyday, Barbara is on edge that she will be found out and her escape plan will be foiled. However, her plan is changed completely due to a girl called Stella… (I won't give it away!).
The somewhat ambiguous ending leaves some questions annoyingly unanswered. Barbara ultimately succeeds in portraying the bleakness of life in East Germany under Communist regime full of espionage and secrecy, though it is not always consistent in capturing the viewer’s attention and intrigue as some scene are very boring, as the life then was.... Visually the film is wonderfully crafted and realistic throughout. This, combined with stellar performances, makes the film worth watching.
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