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Yella

Play trailer Poster for Yella 2007 1h 29m Drama Romance Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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82% Tomatometer 55 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A near-death experience causes a woman to relive someone else's final moments.
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Yella

Yella

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Critics Consensus

Chilly and haunting, Yella's atmosphere gets under the skin.

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Critics Reviews

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Chris Darke Film Comment Magazine 11/14/2013
Petzold, a leading light of the current generation of young German filmmakers, succeeds in making the modern world strange again. Go to Full Review
Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times 09/19/2008
4/5
This unusual film has all the appearance of simply being a well-done drama, but there is considerably more on writer-director Christian Petzold's mind. Go to Full Review
Walter V. Addiego San Francisco Chronicle 09/05/2008
3/4
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. Go to Full Review
Martin Tsai New York Sun 04/21/2023
The film serves as an allegory about former East Germans yearning to attain capitalist success, only to find disillusionment in an economic climate of mergers and layoffs. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 02/18/2022
3.5/4
Christian Petzold's Yella is an unassuming story with a powerful metaphor about the complexities of German reunification Go to Full Review
Dennis Harvey 48 Hills 05/27/2021
2007's cool psychological suspense piece Yella, with Hoss as a woman who can't quite escape her troubled past, was one of the first films that made the international reputations of both its star and her frequent director Christoph Petzold. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Dave S 05/19/2022 In an effort to escape abuse from her estranged husband, a young woman relocates and finds dubious employment in a distant city working for a larcenous corporate schemer. It all sounds fairly straightforward until a series of mildly surreal events cause her to doubt her own state of mind. Yella is a sparse and intriguing German film from director Christian Petzold, whose films feel eerily similar in style and substance to the movies of Michael Haneke. Over its brief running time, the subtle twists and puzzling events keep you invested in the story…until the final scene, which feels like a horrible cop-out and, sadly, diminishes much of what came before. See more 01/21/2014 Another film from the Berlin School's Christian Petzold, Yella is an often interesting drama that showcases a performance by Nina Hoss. This film may easily bore American audiences but that does not make it any less impactful. See more 04/11/2013 I grew up in Germany and always refused to give up on German film although t just keeps disappointing me. Nina Hoss has starred in some interesting productions, so I was very interested to see this critically acclaimed feature film. The story follows Yella, a young accountant accepting a job in a big city in GDR. She leaves behind her broke husband who is obsessing over her. The film shows Yella working with a businessman as an advisor (it was not perfectly clear what they actaully do) and develop as she is faced with the capitalistic business world. Nina Hoss gives an intense performance and carries the whole movie effortlesly. It's a study of the lead person's character but also the world at that time. "Yella" is a mellow thriller without bombastic effects but emotion-based suspense and anticipation. The ending is unexpected and invites you to think about the what ifs. It's probably not the movie that will find a place in your DVD favorites but it's well worth to fill an evening of entertained watching and deep thinking. See more 04/16/2012 An interesting and well shot film, but with messy and odd story telling. Better movies with similar plot paths are Swimming Pool (2003), and Stay (2005)among others. See more 04/15/2012 Intelligent storyline that keeps you guessing only to find your always wrong. Mindblowing frustrating stuff. The end was a bit weird , & why did she not get her ex arrested before the car crash See more 04/24/2011 You can tell me it's profound. You can tell me it's filled with social commentary. You can tell me it's hidden genius and artistic value. You can tell me all that stuff. It doesn't make up for the fact that "Yella" is really freaking boring. See more Read all reviews
Yella

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Movie Info

Synopsis A near-death experience causes a woman to relive someone else's final moments.
Director
Christian Petzold
Producer
Florian Koerner von Gustorf
Screenwriter
Simone Bär, Christian Petzold
Production Co
Arte, Schramm Film Koerner & Weber, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen
Genre
Drama, Romance, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
German
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 18, 2010
Runtime
1h 29m
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