From acclaimed director Cate Shortland ('Lore'), 'Berlin Syndrome is a riveting psychological thriller featuring a raw and compelling performance from rising star Teresa Palmer.
While travelling alone in Berlin, Australian photographer Clare meets Andi, a charismatic local English teacher with whom she shares an instant physical attraction. After spending the night together, Clare wakes up alone in Andi’s apartment to discover the door locked and the windows secured, with no other means of escape. Now the only inhabitant of an otherwise abandoned apartment complex, Clare must confront her lover to have any hope of escaping the nightmare of her confinement.
Elegantly constructed and deeply suspenseful, 'Berlin Syndrome' is both a nuanced character study and an engrossing thriller that explores the dynamics of power and control, and the psychological complexities between captor and captive. Exhilarating, nerve-wracking and unforgettable, it demonstrates Cate Shortland at the peak of her powers.
★★★★ "A thoughtful chamber piece and great white knuckle thriller" - Ian Freer, Empire
★★★★ "A skilful, delicately wrought character study" - Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman
★★★★ "Shortland delves into the knotty complexity of the co-dependent relationship between captor and captive" - Wendy Ide, The Observer
★★★★ "An arthouse abduction thriller... left me in a cold sweat" - Cath Clarke, Time Out
15
116 minutes
2017
Thriller
Germany
English, German, Russian
English
Curzon Artificial Eye