Synopsis
In an attempt to flee Nazi-occupied France, Georg assumes the identity of a dead author but soon finds himself stuck in Marseilles, where he falls in love with Maria, a young woman searching for her missing husband.
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Cast
- Franz RogowskiGeorg
- Paula BeerMarie
- Godehard GieseRichard
- Lilien BatmanDriss
- Barbara AuerArchitect / Frau
- Matthias BrandtBartender / Narrator
- Sebastian HülkPaul
- Àlex BrendemühlMexican Consul
- Ronald KukuliesHeinz
- Maryam ZareeMelissa
Recommendations
- 100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Both leads fit their performances seamlessly into this destabilizing scheme, providing a provocative timelessness to the characters. - 90
Variety
A refugee portrait that piles contrivance upon contrivance to somehow land at a place of piercing emotional acuity. - 90
New York Magazine (Vulture)
It’s worth shaking off the incongruities and getting on the movie’s wavelength. Once Transit’s bitterly ironic vision takes hold, it eats into the mind. - 88
Slant Magazine
Christian Petzold’s lean, rigorous filmmaking proves essential as the story begins to run, deliberately, in circles. - 83
The Film Stage
This is a richly rewarding film, packed with ideas and riddles, that will surely benefit from repeat viewings. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
There is no denying that, initially, Transit’s story might feel excessively oblique. But as the film slowly puts its formalistic and thematic cards on the table, it becomes clear that its storytelling technique is really just a reflection of its core themes. - 75
IndieWire
The result is a film that lucidly traces the specter of fascism (never extinguished, always waiting to exhale), and how unreal it feels for it to cast its shadow across Europe once more. It’s also a film that feels stuck between stations, so doggedly theoretical that it borders on becoming glib. - 67
The Playlist
Be prepared to be challenged by the glittering, allusive and often bewitching “Transit,” but also to be frustrated on discovering that even if you manage to piece it all together, in this particular crazy world the problems of three little people ultimately don’t amount to a hill of beans.
