Set in 1980, director Christian Petzold’s latest work centres on a doctor (Nina Hoss) exiled to a small town from East Berlin as punishment for applying for an exit visa from the GDR (East Germany).

Planning to flee for Denmark with her boyfriend, Barbara remains icy and withdrawn around her colleagues, particularly with the lead physician (Ronald Zehrfeld), who is hiding a secret of his own. With her patients, however, the guarded doctor is kind, warm, and protective, even risking her own safety for one of her charges.

But as the day of her planned escape quickly approaches, Barbara starts to lose control, over herself, her plans and over love. Masterfully controlled and totally absorbing, this Cold War thriller expertly details the costs of telling and withholding the truth.