The German Film PHOENIX is a Haunting Thriller in Post WWII in Germany

PHOENIX, by German dir. Christian Petzoid is subtitled (poorly) in English.  It is a deeply stirring and haunting film set just after WWII in Germany.  Nelly, a concentration camp survivor, is being brought home, her face covered in bloody bandages by her close friend Lene.  Nelly is terribly disfigured and an emotional wreck.  She asks the physician doing her facial reconstruction, to make her look as she did before the war.  "That is not possible," her Dr. informs her.  Lene tries her best to assure Nelly she is still beautiful and fortunate to have survived.  Her friend also advises Nelly of her large inheritance as the sole family survivor.  Lene advises her to use the money to move to Palestine and help build a homeland for Jews.  Nelly doesn't understand.  She never considered herself Jewish and is only concerned with finding her husband, Johnny.  "The Germans almost killed you for being Jewish and your husband betrayed you," Lene tells her.  Johnny turned his wife in to the Nazi's to save himself.  Nelly finds Johnny whom she still reverently loves, working in a nightclub called  Phoenix.  Johnny sees Nelly who he acknowledges that she reminds him of his dead wife. He doesn't accept that she is his wife.  He prefers to believe she died in the camps.  He inveigles Nelly, ("Esther") to pose as his wife enabling him to claim the inheritance & he'll compensate her. The intrigue and pace of this nightmarish betrayal is chilling.  The climatic ending bears down with gravitas and grace. We are reminded of man's unfathomable capacity for cruelty and ability to turn a blind eye to inhumanity.  There are blazing metaphors in this suspenseful and unforgettable film.