Yella 2007

Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune: The German offering Yella begins with an utterly gripping first 15 minutes, follows with a passable drama and ends with a big disappointment. Read more

Sara Cardace, New York Magazine/Vulture: It's one of those films that keeps swirling in your brain once it's done -- thanks both to its somewhat unresolved ending and to the many subtle themes touched on throughout. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Strikes a perfect balance between corporate intrigue and metaphysical mystery; his 2007 drama is filled with suspense but ends in delicious ambiguity. Read more

Mark Rahner, Seattle Times: An import non-thriller so enigmatic and subtle that it's inert. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: 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. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: [A] tightly controlled metaphysical horror movie. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Christian Petzold's disquieting German thriller feels modest while you're watching it, but makes a stronger-than-expected impact. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: Makes for interesting viewing. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Yella is a reserved young woman with unrevealed depths of intelligence, larceny and passion. Their gradual revelation makes this more than an ordinary thriller, in great part because of the performance of Nina Hoss in the title role. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: 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. Read more

Hank Sartin, Time Out: Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Though the film attests that the director can masterfully dredge up metaphysical dread, it also proves that he needs to learn to avoid easy ways out. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: An expertly crafted thriller which offers a pessimistic, though deeply rewarding, glimpse of a society being haunted by its own past. Read more

Derek Elley, Variety: German writer-director Christian Petzold returns to top form in Yella, another precision-helmed, tightly wound, metaphysical thriller that confirms him as one of Germany's finest middle-generation directors. Read more