MIROIRS NO. 3 Trailer: Paula Beer is a Woman Haunted in Christian Petzold’s Enigmatic Domestic Drama

After working together on Transit, Undine, and Afire, writer-director Christian Petzold and actress Paula Beer are back again with a new psychological drama in a stunning setting. Miroirs No. 3, named after the classical piano piece, follows Berlin music student Laura (Paula Beer), who, after surviving a car accident in the countryside that takes the life of her boyfriend, is taken in by a nurturing local, Betty (Barbara Auer), carrying her own secret of pain and trauma. Matthias Brandt and Enno Trebs also star, reteaming with Petzold following Afire. Following major festival runs including Cannes, TIFF, and NYFF, 1-2 Special will release Miroirs No. 3 stateside on March 20.

Editor-at-large Matt Delman wrote in his NYFF review, “Christian Petzold is a director in fine control of his craft. He reteams with his muse, the inimitable Paula Beer, to play out a fantasy in the countryside in Miroirs No. 3… A master of subtlety, but not without ambition, Petzold crafts another delectable drama that prods at the human condition… Cinematographer Hans Fromm does not rely on reflective shots, favoring medium shots of people and faces. If the eyes are the window to the soul, it’s natural to keep the focus there. While creating Miroirs No. 3, Petzold may be working on a smaller scale, but he still makes a meal out of it.”

As the official synopsis reads:

During a weekend trip to the countryside, Laura, a young piano student from Berlin, miraculously survives a shocking car crash. Awakening in a nearby house, Laura finds herself in the care of a local woman, who tends to her with motherly devotion. As she recuperates, Laura begins to integrate herself into the lives of the woman and her initially reluctant husband and son. By turns haunted and hopeful, Laura and her adopted family reawaken to the world and come to find a strange harmony together. However, they cannot outrun the ghosts of the past, which begin to stir, as acclaimed director Christian Petzold (PHOENIX, TRANSIT) spins a modern gothic fairytale about the lies we tell ourselves and the strange ways that grief, connection, and humanity bind and sustain us.

Watch the U.S. trailer below.

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