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I became a playwright in 1996, having been an avid theatregoer throughout my life (averaging around 120 plays a year – watching, not writing!) I semi-retired from my day job shortly thereafter and for the next 25 years I worked only part-time, allowing me time to write. I ventured briefly into the world of television and wrote a couple of screenplays, although this pretty much came to nothing, except for TAPS making a short film of one of my scripts starring (a virtually unknown) Benedict Cumberbatch and Georgia Mackenzie, which was cool, and sufficient to get me BAFTA membership. Since the pandemic, theatre in the UK has never really found its way back to what it used to be, and so my attention has drifted more towards film. I am now fully retired from my day job and whilst I still visit the theatre two or three times a month, I now watch upwards of 500 films a year (crazy, but true!) Since I watch so many films and can write, I decided to create a blog – it seemed a very 21st-Century thing to do.
REVIEW: Miroirs No 3 ★★★★☆

REVIEW: Miroirs No 3 ★★★★☆

Miroirs No 3 is a 2025 German chamber-drama written and directed by Christian Petzold. The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last May and was released in the UK on 17 April.

Laura (Paula Beer), a talented music student, is depressed, perhaps even suicidal. Reluctantly, she sets off on a weekend away with her boyfriend and two of his friends but, on arrival, asks him to take her back home, saying she feels unwell. He agrees to drop her at the nearest railway station but loses control of their car on the way and is killed instantly; Laura suffers only minor injuries.

Twice during this brief introductory sequence, Laura has locked eyes with Betty (Barbara Auer) who stands at the roadside outside her house and witnesses the accident. As the emergency services deal with the aftermath, Laura asks Betty if she can stay with her while she recovers, and so the scene is set. Finding refuge and support, Laura gradually recovers from both the accident and her depression, and she cheerfully helps Betty with the household chores. Betty invites her estranged husband, Richard (Matthias Brandt), and her son, Max (Enno Trebs), to dinner, though they are somewhat reluctant and accuse Betty of acting inappropriately. We learn that Betty and Richard lost their daughter Yelena to suicide and to Betty, Laura has become a surrogate for her deceased daughter, hence the reaction of the men in her life.

This is a mystery story about grief and family dysfunction. There are hints of Ruth Rendall in the story-telling but unlike Rendall’s stories there is no explanation to the dénouement. Paula Beer and Barbara Auer are excellent in the two central rolls and Petzold is in his element in tight chamber pieces like this. Throughout the film we always have some idea what is going on but we never quite get a clear picture until a final moment of clarity, a coming together, as Laura plays Ravel’s Miroirs No. 3 at a concert, with Betty, Richard and Max watching seemingly contentedly from the audience.

Miroirs No 3 is a lovely, understated film and is well worth the effort, if you can still find a screening.

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