Christian Petzold’s MIROIRS NO. 3 Unveils Trailer Ahead of March 20 U.S. Theatrical Release

Paula Beer searches for healing and connection in Christian Petzold’s haunting new gothic fairytale.

Christian Petzold’s Miroirs No. 3 Unveils Official Trailer Ahead of March 20 Theatrical Release

The official trailer has arrived for Miroirs No. 3, the latest feature from acclaimed German filmmaker Christian Petzold, and it promises a quietly devastating return to the director’s signature terrain: emotional dislocation, identity, and the ghosts that linger beneath everyday life.

Written and directed by Petzold, Miroirs No. 3 stars Paula Beer, continuing one of contemporary cinema’s most compelling creative partnerships following Phoenix, Transit, and Undine. Beer is joined by Barbara Auer, Matthias Brandt, and Enno Trebs.

The film opens theatrically March 20 via 1-2 Special, debuting at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center in New York, alongside a Los Angeles opening at Laemmle Royal.

Miroirs No. 3 follows Laura, a young piano student from Berlin, who survives a violent car crash while on a weekend trip to the countryside. Awakening in a nearby home, she is taken in by a local woman whose maternal care borders on devotional. As Laura recovers, she gradually integrates herself into the household, forming a fragile bond with the woman’s initially distant husband and son.

What begins as an intimate portrait of healing slowly shifts into something more unsettling. As the family finds a tentative sense of harmony, the past resurfaces in quiet but persistent ways. Petzold frames the story as a modern gothic fairytale—one that is both haunted and hopeful—exploring the emotional bargains people make in the aftermath of grief, and the lies that allow them to keep moving forward.

Visually, the film continues Petzold’s long-standing collaboration with cinematographer Hans Fromm, whose restrained compositions and naturalistic lighting ground the film’s ethereal undertones. Production design by K.D. Gruber and editing by Bettina Böhler further reinforce the film’s quiet tension, while an immersive soundscape crafted by Andreas Mücke-Niesytka, Dominik Schleier, Marek Forreiter, Böhler, and Lars Ginzel deepens its emotional pull.

Produced by Florian Koerner von Gustorf, Michael Weber, and Anton Kaiser, Miroirs No. 3 positions itself as another precise, humanistic meditation from a filmmaker who continues to find profound meaning in quiet moments and unresolved pain.

With its measured pacing, spectral undertones, and emotionally layered performances, Miroirs No. 3 looks poised to resonate deeply with fans of Petzold’s work and audiences drawn to gothic storytelling rooted in psychological realism.

Miroirs No. 3 opens in theaters March 20.