Fatherland

A cool, tightly made chamber piece: Pawlikowski follows Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika across a divided Germany in 1949, in black and white and 82 minutes. Critics praise Hüller, Zischler and the cinematography; the doubts are that it is austere and smaller than Cold War.

Best for admirers of Pawlikowski's earlier films. A good bet if you like quiet tension over plot.