‘Fatherland’ Review – Sandra Hüller Continues Brilliant Acting Streak In Pawlikowski’s Portrait of A Divided Germany [NYFF 2026]

After garnering three Oscar nominations, including Best Director, with 2018’s Cold War, Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski returns to the director’s chair with Fatherland, another black-and-white film following Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) as they road trip across Germany to accept the Goethe Award after leaving Germany in 1933 due to the rise of Nazism. Germany has been split into the capitalist West and communist East, giving the Mann family the West to finally “come home” to, in a way. As Thomas and Erika return to Germany, the second Mann sibling, Klaus (August Diehl), calls Erika, expressing his distaste for the start of modern art and dissatisfaction with his own work.

Despite being invited back to their “fatherland,” none of the Mann family feels at home anywhere in the world. Erika has been in America for years, but hasn’t been able to get citizenship there due to her anti-capitalist ideals; Klaus’ work has been banned in Germany, so he is reluctant to return; and Thomas is in jeopardy of being prosecuted in America if he ventures to East Germany. None are at home, even with each other. Erika and Thomas have differing perspectives on the state of Germany, with the latter not acknowledging the newfound borders between the divided country. At one point in the film, Erika even suggests to her father that they go home. “Where is that?” he replies. A chilling response, it sums up their place in the world.

The film is shot beautifully by Łukasz Żal, who also shot Pawlikowski’s Cold War and Ida (2013), as well as I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020), The Zone of Interest (2023), and Hamnet (2025). Żal is clearly a talented cinematographer, working on films where the camera is static, and everything you need to see comes in and out of frame. Fatherland is no different, trapping Erika and Thomas within the tight 4:3 aspect ratio as they are trapped in their own circumstances.

While Klaus never joins the others on screen, Hüller and Zischler are mesmerizing together, feeling completely lived-in from the jump. Their relationship is shown, not told, with the slightest gestures communicating a world of emotion and meaning. Hüller has turned in multiple great performances this year, showing off an interesting range of internal acting that’s been intriguing to track. Her turn in Project Hail Mary is very strict and matter-of-fact. Even in the scene where she lets loose a little bit, she immediately goes back to the straight-laced, buttoned-up scientist. In Rose, she’s challenged with playing a duplicitous role that requires keeping her cards close to her chest, only letting out emotion as needed. Digger is where she gets to be a bit more animated. Her role here is a nice blend of the first two.

While the film is gorgeous and has stellar acting, I struggled with finding anything deeper to chew on outside of the theme of displacement that the Manns are experiencing pretty overtly. Fatherland seems to end right as it picks up a lot of momentum, and I can’t help but think the more powerful version of the film was left behind in favor of being succinct. I was invested in Erika particularly, as we see much of the film through her eyes, but the movie doesn’t seem to arrive anywhere compelling.

Fatherland has some powerful images and impeccable acting, showing us, rather than telling us, the vast societal chasm that splits Germany into East and West. Hüller is astounding, and it will be interesting to see if this is the performance she gets recognized for this awards season. Although it doesn’t quite reach a climax of sorts, Pawlikowski brings his consistently great filmmaking and depiction of history to the film in ways that are impossible to ignore.

Fatherland held its New York Premiere as part of the Main Slate section at the 2026 New York Film Festival. The film is now playing in select theaters courtesy of MUBI.

Director: Paweł Pawlikowski

Writers: Paweł Pawlikowski, Henk Handloegten

Rated: R

Runtime: 82m

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