Yella (2007)

Yella is estranged from her possessive and violent husband; but he can't quite bring himself to give her up. When their fraught interaction finally comes to dramatic conclusion, Yella's life takes an odd shift.

Director:

Christian Petzold

Writer:

Christian Petzold

Stars:

Nina Hoss, Devid Striesow, Hinnerk Schönemann

6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Nina Hoss	...	Yella Fichte
Devid Striesow	...	Philipp
Hinnerk Schönemann	...	Ben
Burghart Klaußner	...	Dr. Gunthen
Barbara Auer	...	Barbara Gunthen
Christian Redl	...	Yellas Vater
Selin Bademsoy	...	Dr. Gunthens Tochter (as Selin Barbara Petzold)
Wanja Mues	...	Sprenger
Michael Wittenborn	...	Dr. Schmidt-Ott
Martin Brambach	...	Dr. Fritz
Joachim Nimtz	...	Prietzel
Peter Benedict	...	Dr. Friedrichs Anwalt Oliver
Ian Norval	...	Rezeptionist
Peter Knaack	...	Insolvenzverwalter
Thomas Giese	...	Kassierer

Storyline

Christian Petzold's drama deals with a woman, who leaves her hometown for a promising job and a new life, but is haunted by the truths of the past. As her marriage to Ben broke and her professional career has no future in her native town in the Eastern part of Germany, Yella has decided to search for a job in the West. When she gets to know Philipp, a smart executive at a private equity company in Hanover, she becomes his assistant and gets involved into the world of ruthless and big business. Realizing her dreams could come true with Philipp's help, she starts hearing voices and sounds from her past, which menace her new and better life...

---

Plot Keywords:

character name as title | forename as title | woman | abusive husband | one word title | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Romance | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film title was inspired by Yella Rottländer, female lead in Wim Wenders' Alice in the Cities (1974).

---

Connections

Referenced in Kennwort Kino: Das Geheimnis von Yella (2007)

---

Soundtracks

Sonata No.14 in C-sharp minor, Op.27 No.2
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Interpreted by Dietmar Löffler

User Reviews

Christoph Petzold: who are you?

This is the fourth Petzold feature film I've seen; they've all been well-made and all have left me unsatisfied in some way. Die innere Sicherheit is his remake of Running On Empty and has some effective performances but lacks the emotion of Lumet's film. Barbara is a wonderful vehicle for his muse Nina Hoss, but the suspense you'd expect to find in a DDR story isn't there. Jerichow is a version of The Postman Always Rings Twice that is underpowered in its acting.

Now Yella has another effective performance by Nina Hoss--think of Julia Roberts with more acting ability--but the script somehow doesn't satisfy. It's more Daphne du Maurier when you really want Graham Greene. David Striesow as the cynical yet somehow sympathetic Philipp impressed me; I'd want to see him in another vehicle.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

16 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Йелла

Filming Locations:

Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,767, 18 May 2008

Gross USA:

$30,647

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$999,588

Company Credits

Production Co:

Schramm Film Koerner & Weber, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), ARTE

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1