‘The Other Side’ review: Nina Hoss gives a committed performance in pacy German survival thriller

Dir/scr: Mariko Minoguchi. Germany/Austria. 2026 105mins

A deeply committed performance from Nina Hoss is the star attraction in The Other Side, German filmmaker Mariko Minoguchi’s moving second feature which is set among spectacular Alpine locations and follows an infected doctor trying to survive a post-pandemic world. Thoughtful, well-crafted storytelling places the emphasis on loss and the value of fleeting human connections. Domestic audiences should be drawn by the story and the lead performance when the film is released in Germany on October 22nd after a world premiere at Hamburg; the presence of Hoss could help spark interest further afield.

Minoguchi keeps sentimentality at bay

Minoguchi attracted attention with her debut feature Relativity (2019) which won best screenplay and best first feature at the German Film Critics Awards. The Other Side reveals a growing confidence in the filmmker’s sense of pacing, her decisions about what to reveal and what she chooses to withhold. Minoguchi immerses us in the plight of Hanna (Nina Hoss) who lives in the woods as a fugitive from what remains of normal society. Borders are closed, signboards are festooned with messages from loved ones seeking information about those who are missing, and mask-wearing appears compulsory. There are obvious similarities with Covid-era lockdowns in these early sequences.

Hanna, it transpires, has lost her husband and son and now isolates herself to protect others. The film’s make-up department have done an excellent job of convincingly covering her flesh in angry scabs, bloody wounds and spreading rashes. There is little dialogue or music as Minoguchi focuses on Hoss’s physical commitment to the part and Hanna’s admirable survival skills. She chops wood, catches rabbits and administers first aid to a nasty gash in her leg.

Human contact is minimal and only seems to cause pain, and yet human connections provide the film with its tenderest moments. Hanna is given sanctuary by an elderly woman( Barbara Petritsch) now living alone in a remote mountainside farm; the offer of clean sheets, a working shower and a comfortable bed prove overpowering. Amidst the dark night skies and the flickering intimacy of a candlelight dinner, the two women’s shared sense of loss trumps any fears of infection. “At my age, stairs are more dangerous, “ claims the unnamed older woman.

There are echoes here of The Road (2009), Agnes Varda’s Vagabonde (1985) and even the mountain dramas that were such a favourite of German cinemagoers in the 1920s. Aside from pandemic parallels, there are also comparisons with the plight of refugees in modern Europe as Hanna faces isolation, perilous journeys through hostile terrain and an unpredictable reception from the local population. Indeed, the pace accelerates when Hanna encounters a camp of survivors and outcasts close to the border. She is particularly drawn to Lila (Precious Mariam Sanusi), a young black woman who is pregnant. Previous events have shown us how ruthless Hannah can be in protecting herself and others, but the young girl’s plight is impossible to ignore.

Cinematographer Felix Pflieger captures some striking shots of the majestic mountain peaks covered in snow or seeming to float on a bed of marshmallow clouds. The howling wind, battering rain and chilly grip of the changing seasons all contribute to an understanding of the determination required to simply survive.

Throughout,The Other Side remains deliberately sketchy about what has actually happened, although we are gradually made aware that this is a post-pandemic period with signs of recovery. The briefest of flashbacks provides a glimpse of the life Hanna once had; photos of her husband and son are reminders of those she has lost. Yet Minoguchi keeps sentimentality at bay – the focus is always on survival and the possibility of finding hope in the bleakest of times.