Where to watch
Each link opens a search on that service. Checked 13 October 2026.
Streaming data from JustWatch
Barbara
MEANRANK
76/100
Every rating
Mostly agreed
Lowest is Kinopoisk on 68, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 94. Critics average 90, everyone else 72.
See the films the platforms disagree about most →In 1980s East Germany, a talented doctor named Barbara is banished to a small rural hospital as punishment for applying for an exit visa. She maintains a cold, professional distance from her colleagues while secretly planning to escape to the West with her lover. Paranoia sets in as she is constantly watched by the Stasi, the secret police. The film portrays her internal struggle between her desire for freedom and her growing sense of duty to her patients.
Details
- Director
- Christian Petzold
- Writers
- Christian Petzold, Harun Farocki
- Studio
- Schramm Film, ZDF, ARTE
- Released
- 8 March 2012
- Country
- Germany
- Language
- German
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Box office
- $6.9M
- Awards
- 1 win, 13 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (26) →
Awards & nominations
See all 14 →1 win from 14 nominations across 3 ceremonies
| International Submission to the Academy Awards 2013 | International Submission to the Academy Awards | Germany | Nominee |
| 25th European Film Awards 2012 | Best European Film | Christian Petzold | Nominee |
| 25th European Film Awards 2012 | Best Actress | Nina Hoss | Nominee |
| 25th European Film Awards 2012 | Best Film | Christian Petzold | Nominee |
| 25th European Film Awards 2012 | Best Film | Florian Koerner von Gustorf | Nominee |
| 25th European Film Awards 2012 | Best Film | Michael Weber | Nominee |
| German Film Award 2012 | Best Screenplay | Nominee | |
| German Film Award 2012 | Best Editing | Nominee |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Beyond the numbers
All lists →
30 October 2026
Why Meryl Streep is the greatest actress of all time
The case rests on comedy, emotional precision, versatility and sustained achievement, tested against the strongest rival claims.
30 October 2026
Denzel Washington is more than an actor: a global Black cultural icon
How global visibility, artistic freedom and a commanding public presence gave his career a meaning that reaches beyond the films.
29 October 2026
MCU canon explained: the main timeline, other universes and the TV shows
Daredevil counts. Alternate universes are not automatically non-canon. A practical guide to Marvel continuity without treating every cameo as a blanket answer.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — Barbara
×Full cast — Barbara
×
14 awards — Barbara
×| International Submission to the Academy Awards | Germany | Nominee |
| Best Feature Film | Florian Koerner von Gustorf | Winner |
| Best Actor | Nominee | |
| Best Cinematography | Nominee | |
| Best Costume Design | Nominee | |
| Best Direction | Nominee | |
| Best Editing | Nominee | |
| Best Screenplay | Nominee | |
| Best Sound Design | Nominee |
| Best Actress | Nina Hoss | Nominee |
| Best European Film | Christian Petzold | Nominee |
| Best Film | Christian Petzold | Nominee |
| Best Film | Florian Koerner von Gustorf | Nominee |
| Best Film | Michael Weber | Nominee |