A One Mann’s Movies review of “Miroirs No 3” (From the 2025 London Film Festival). (2025, 2.5*, ’15’).
English Translation: Mirrors No. 3.
“Miroirs No 3” refers to a piano suite by Ravel, the third movement of which is played by the protagonist in this movie. (But aside from that, it seems to be pretty meaningless.) I’m not familiar with the German writer/director Christian Petzold, but this rather slight piece – whilst pleasant enough to sit through – didn’t really trigger any emotions in me. Other than, “well, that doesn’t seem very realistic”!
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
After a car crash, Laura (Paula Beer), a despondent piano student from Berlin, moves into the house of Betty (Barbara Auer) and her rather strange husband and son who live close to the crash scene. The family seems dysfunctional and damaged. Can two wrongs make a right?
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (The film has not yet been rated by the BBFC but I would expect it to be a 15 for language and some scenes of violence.)
Talent:
Starring: Paula Beer, Philip Froissant, Barbara Auer, Matthias Brandt, Enno Trebs.
Directed by: Christian Petzold.
Written by: Christian Petzold.
Running Time: 1h 26m.
Summary:
Positives:
- Nice scenery.
- A good performance from Paula Beer.
Negatives:
- Some of the aspects of the script come across as enormously unrealistic.
- It’s a bit dull: I’m glad it was sub-90 minutes.
- A spotless car!
Full Review of “Miroirs No.3”:
No grief?
So, you’ve driving along a country road in a convertible and you crash the car. You are thrown free, but your long-term boyfriend is smashed against a rock and dies. Do you: a) break down into uncontrollable grief for the next two weeks?; b) scream and shout about the unfairness of life and try to kill yourself?; or c) carry on as if absolutely nothing has happened and whitewash a fence? If you chose option c) – DING DING DING – you’re in the right film!
There is nothing remotely human about the reaction of Laura (Paula Beer) to the loss of her boyfriend. Even a level-headed rational sort of girl would grieve, let alone a girl who we have already seen looking longingly over a road-bridge or looking longingly at a river to jump in (while, most bizarrely, a guy dressed in black looking like the River Styx boatman paddle-boards past!). It’s just all so unnatural.
No curiosity?
Then there is the subject of Yelena who keeps cropping up in conversations: Yelena’s clothes; Yelena’s room; Yalena’s piano. There is also a moment of panic when Betty sets the table for four people when, to Richard (Matthias Brandt) and Max (Enno Trebs), it seems only the three of them are present at the table. Eh up, mum’s “off her pills again” and going doolally. Of course, unbeknownst to the men, Laura is preparing the food in the kitchen and then walks in with the dumplings. (Just one dumpling each for growing men who’ve been doing manual labour all day!!).
Max, more than once, pulls Laura aside with an urgent “there’s something I have to tell you about”, before being interrupted.
NOT ONCE in all of this does Laura ask who Yelena is and where she is now!
The story has some colour.
Whilst I didn’t believe any of it, the story is imbued with a certain amount of charm and colour. The German countryside they cycle through is pleasant enough. The men work in a mechanics shop, with Max receiving luxury cars to “do something with” in a rather shady fashion for a wad of cash. (He claims that it is disabling manufacturers GPS trackers on the luxury cars because the “customers don’t like to be tracked”… which still feels shady.) And there’s a nice use of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ “The Night”.
I expected a different ending.
The film just rather fizzles out at the end. I was expecting an ending more like that of “Good Boy“. But I didn’t get it.
Paula Beer.
In terms of the acting, the only performance that stood out for me was that of Paula Beer, who had a certain cool presence (reminded me of a young Sylvia Kristel) and should be in something better. I’m afraid the rather monotone and glum acting of Barbara Auer (who was in “The Book Thief“) failed to impress me: some of that though was down to the script she was needing to deliver.
Pristine car!
One other really ridiculous thing was the car after the car crash. For the crash site, the rather nice red convertible was probably tipped onto its left-hand side by a crane – probably on some nice padding so as not to damage it. But then Petzold adds a shot of Laura watching the car being taken away on a transporter… with a completely undamaged left hand side. It’s a daft decision… just don’t include the shot at all!
Summary Thoughts:
I mean, writing this one up I’m a bit surprised I’ve given it the score I have (and not lower): but watching it was a perfectly pleasant way to spend 90 minutes. It’s not one that will last long in my memory though.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
A German trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy8PhSABJBk.
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