Hubert Monteilhet's novel has been filmed three times I saw two of them. The 1960's Return From The Ashes and this one, Phoenix (2014) - the one I haven't seen is a TV version from the 1980's Le retour d'Elisabeth Wolff, but now I really want to see it. Phoenix is a moody, painful journey to a rebirth. Nina Hoss is lovely as the survivor, Ronald Zehofeld plays the husband, object of her obsession. He's an interesting actor, a mix between Benicio del Toro and the young Orson Welles. Their scenes together have a realistic, tangible suspense. But Christian Petzold, the director of Jerichow (2008), gives the whole film a severe pace and tone, the 1964 version has a sharp, sophisticated script by Julius J Epstein with titles like Casablanca to his credit and J Lee Thompson at the helm, Thompson directed films like The Guns Of Navarone, Cape Fear and What A Way To Go. So his version, Return From The Ashes, is a whole other experience, at time it's even funny. With a superlative international cast cast, Maximilian Schell, Ingrid Thulin and Samantha Eggar - So one can see both films as it they weren't even related.

"Phoenix" tells the story of a Schoah survivor, who undergoes medical surgery on her face and moves back into her old environment. There she meets her husband, who reportedly turned her in. He notices her similarity to his wife and hires her to play her to get his hands on her money. Now, reunited with her former husband, she begins to raises question in a bitter search for her old life.The plot is very powerful. It is a clever script that allows for big emotions, desperation and uncertainty. Sometimes I would have wished that these emotions would have been displayed even more to break into the rather calm tone of the film. However this is not just an addition to the cinematographic topic but it is a whole new approach, produced very professionally and looking worthy.All in all this is a film you should give a try for it is outstanding in its way and doesn't copy others. For me the last bit was missing to make it even more moving and lasting but it nevertheless is a great piece of filmmaking.

The pacing at the beginning is slow. However - as the plot becomes more and more intriguing, everything falls into place. The final scene is breathtaking. Superbly acted.

I have to say that the first act of the film I really loved. I thought the film was going into some really interesting terrain and I have to be honest, when the time came for the actual plot of the film to be revealed and I knew what it would be about, I was disappointed. Not that the storyline was particularly bad, I just thought it would hit even more interesting notes. As it is, the film itself is pretty good. It's poetic and haunting and very elegant, and it has some fine performances. Nina Hoss in particular (who I immediately recognized in her role this season of Homeland) does some captivating work with her eyes, and it is perhaps one of the best leading performances of the year.