Film Review: MIRRORS No. 3: Christian Petzold’s Human Drama Captivates Despite a Slight Story Line [NYFF 2025]
Mirrors No. 3 Review
Mirrors No. 3 / Miroirs No. 3 (2025) Film Review from the 63rd Annual New York Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Christian Petzold and starring Paula Beer, Philip Froissant, Barbara Auer, Enno Trebs, Matthias Brandt, Christian Koerner, Victoire Laly and Hendrik Heutmann.
Filmmaker Christian Petzold’s very delicate story of trauma and emotional recovery, Mirrors No. 3, is a German drama filled with plenty of intriguing dilemmas which are thought-provoking in their excesses. Paula Beer is the lead actress in the movie. She ably portrays a passionate woman named Laura who goes away with her boyfriend for a trip until a devastating car accident suddenly takes his life. That would be enough of a tragedy to make one want to run away from the world and that is exactly what Laura does in this analytical drama about the desire for truth and acceptance in our lives.
This slow-moving, but effective, film opens with the introduction of Laura and her filmmaker boyfriend. Laura sees a woman in passing (played by Barbara Auer) who gives her a very distinct look that’s unusual to decipher. That lady turns out to be named Betty and she is secretly suffering the loss of someone who was very close to her. With nowhere important to go, Laura seems stuck in a rut. Betty takes in Laura after the death of her boyfriend for the sake of convenience. Laura is a talented piano player and a dedicated musical artist. Her suffering consumes her to the point that she starts to see Betty as a mother-like figure as Betty leaves out clothes that fit Laura like a glove. Laura finds these outfits on her bed and, soon, Betty and Laura form a powerful friendship in which they depend on one another’s company to find solace. Enno Trebs portrays Betty’s son, Max, and Matthias Brandt portrays Richard, Betty’s husband.
As nothing really devastating happens for a while over the course of the plot, the fact that Laura’s boyfriend has passed gives her the chance to find her inner artist and come to terms with emotions that help her find herself and deal with the trauma she is facing in her every day life. People sporadically come to Betty’s home that is situated right in the middle of nowhere to do business with their cars and Max deals with them regularly. It seems something crooked may be going on, but that’s not what the movie is about. Max begins to become a little bit puzzling to Laura who feels that he rubs her the wrong way at one point, in particular. As Betty has kept secrets about her own daughter’s death from Laura, she threatens the bond between them by not revealing said information. Betty sees Laura as her own daughter in a way that could feel a bit weird for Laura when the truth eventually comes out.
Betty and her family become consumed by Laura who does have a family of her own even though she chooses to remain in Betty’s home for a considerable amount of time. Betty, Max and Richard end up sneaking into a performance by Laura when she eventually leaves them because they just grow to love her so much. We’re led to believe Laura may care about Betty despite Betty’s omission of the truth, yet this portion of the movie could be very subjective. We’re not really certain as to whether or not Laura is saved by her interaction with Betty and the family or if the family’s lives are saved by the presence of Laura in their house. Either case could be true.
Beer gives an excellent performance as the woman dealing with grief who needs to just take shelter somewhere away from everyone who knows her. Auer is also incredibly interesting in terms of the way she creates her character and develops her over the course of the movie. Mirrors No. 3 is very strong at maintaining the viewer’s interest even though the plot is essentially a very threadbare one. Brandt and Trebs also lend layers to their own characters, making them ultimately seem to fall under the spell cast by Laura’s presence in their home.
Mirrors No. 3 is not a great film by any measure, but it’s interesting to see Beer develop the character from beginning to end. As a woman who is so consumed by her loss that she needs to find salvation through the bond she forms with strangers, Beer is perfectly cast. She and Auer share some great scenes together that are, alas, driven by the emotions of the characters at the movie’s center. In the end, Mirrors No. 3 is ultimately a tender, quiet character study that is slight on the surface, but has an impact that could grow on the viewer a few days after seeing the film. Movies like that are rare and this one is worth seeing. Petzold’s on-point direction manages to keep the viewer riveted from the opening scene all the way until the closing one.
Rating: 7/10
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