The path forward from trauma or pain is full of tricky psychological detours, often a haunting theme in Christian Petzold’s film. His latest Mirror 3centered on two women, one is still suffering from damage and the other is still trapped in existing discomforts that may exist in relationships that she is unsatisfied with or more intangible. It seemed to be restored to both of them initially when two strangers fell into unlikely family arrangements together. But neat drama about emotional recovery is not the business of talented German writers and directors.

Just like Petzold's superb Chekhovian Hall AirStarting in 2023, the new film unfolds in a seemingly peaceful rural environment, disrupted by jagged tensions and disturbing changes, with connections and connections between people varying greatly.

Mirror 3 Its layered and surprising effect is less surprising than the direct predecessor in the director's film work, with the moment of Apocalypse too early to make a big difference. But Petzold is always an observer of his character’s psychology, with four great actors here, including the fourth collaboration of Paula Beer.

Beer plays Laura, a piano student at the Berlin Conservatory of Music, initially in the opening shot of looking down at the river on the Autobahn overpass. It is not clear whether she is considering jumping, but her face is a quiet and isolated map.

When she comes home late and finds her boyfriend Jacob (Philip Frosart) in a state of trouble, she seems shocked and almost enterprising. She murmured that she had thrown her bag away when he said he had been trying to call her, but he was impatient and focused only on friends, Roger (Marcel Heuperman) and Debbi (Victoire Laly), waiting downstairs for them to leave town on the weekend.

Roger is a producer, Jakob - presumably an unspecified film producer - rides a lot this weekend. Laura doesn't seem to have, and there's little to hear and talk while traveling outside Roger's glitter, open-air sports car. Once she reached her destination, she told Jacob that she was uncomfortable and needed to go home. He seemed to be barely able to control his anger, but Roger threw the car keys at him and suggested that he take Laura to the train station. All three of them seemed to be more worried about her discomfort.

Earlier, on a journey from Berlin, Laura's attention was drawn to a woman who painted outside the front yard, but her eyes returned with the same troublesome curiosity. A similar encounter occurred when Jakob's unstable driving almost drove the car off the road and hit her. After a rapid speed, the woman heard about the crash. She ran to the scene and found the vehicle flipped in the field, Jacob threw it from the car and died.

The woman named Betty (Barbara Auer) takes Laura home until the police and ambulance arrive. Apart from some scratches and possible minor concussions, she was shorter and fatter than the injury. When the doctor advised her to go to the hospital, Laura asked if she could stay with Betty while she was recovering. The older woman seemed to live alone, seemed to eat for only a while, and then showed Laura her room, which was comfortable but fell into disrepair.

Petzold lets us draw our own conclusions about why Laura chose to be with a total stranger after a major shock and why Betty welcomed her, although the clues quickly add up. Even if we know Laura, she desires to disappear into another life, which makes sense.

In any case, the beer, which seems to be immediately protected and emotionally transparent, will handle Laura’s adjustment to the new environment in such a natural and elegant way that we never question her motivations. Betty gives Laura all the space she needs, leaving her fresh clothes without explaining who had them before. Laura's melancholy starts to rise as she finds fun in simple tasks such as helping Betty finish painting a white fence or working in the garden.

Despite this, despite being a consistent host, Betty’s obsession with guests is still disturbing, something Auer conveys subtly. What is the judgment of villagers walking on the road? Betty has no voluntary explanation, Laura doesn't ask.

When the two women know each other, it is obvious that Betty has alienated her husband Richard (Matthius Brandt) and her mechanic son Max (Enno Trebs (Enno Trebs), like a self-righteous novelist, Air). The first thing Laura heard about was when she was willing to cook potato dumplings, Betty said they were Richard and Max’s favorite dish and decided to invite them to supper.

The arrival of the two changed the dynamics. They seemed worried that Betty wasn't on her medication and was shocked when they saw the fourth place in the dinner. The purpose becomes clear only when Laura appears to eat from the kitchen, but their behavior is like seeing a ghost. Their silence stands out, and Betty scolds them after dinner. She asked Max to repair a broken bike for Laura and get a piano tuner to secure the neglected instrument to the corner of the living room.

When Richard and Max's subsequent visit, Laura plays the glittering Ravel work, giving the film a title, Betty is happy, while the man appears uneasy. Richard some accepts Betty's stay at home and is happy to spend time with his wife after a break. It took Max a longer time, but when she started riding in the automatic store, he ended up warming up Laura. Even so, about her presence in his family residence cannot sit with him in his home.

Before this, the reasons for the grief that entangles the family (if not all the details) will be obvious to those most people look at, which makes it seem like a stretching thing to get angry and humiliate when Laura is surprised. Indeed, she has been floating in a hazy alternative existence, pausing her life, but it seems incredible that she will see and hear the same clues we do instead of pieced together the situation.

In the hands of smaller actors and directors, Laura could be a frustrating password. Fortunately, beer illuminates the character’s inner life, and even though she retains her mystery, uncertainty spins on her way forward. She had been a long time to disregard the weekend producer, causing a fatal accident. Later, she admitted to Max that she wasn't sad about Jacob, adding that they weren't even a suitable couple.

The actress succeeded in bringing some psychological complexity into the script, which would otherwise be very few. All four principals add a huge amount of drama to the dramatic drama, especially Auer (who appeared in Beer’s first film, along with the director transportationand his early functions, Yella), its strength rarely covers Betty's damage.

The film uses only stubborn music and is shot with soft, natural light, just as backup and elegant as we would have expected from Petzold. It's a small thing for the director, with a softer emotional weight than usual, but even his smaller movies are compelling, and the beer will never be more distorted than the shape.