Barbara is a film about an East German doctor prior to the collapse of the Wall and reunification, who as a result of trying to leave East Germany has been sent to a rural location to practice medicine. The doctor in charge of the hospital she works in, while required to be the eyes and ears of the East German authorities is also both a good doctor and a more complex character than he appears at first.
The movie is essentially about Barbara’s relationships with the town to which she’s sent, with a female adolescent work camp prisoner she takes care of, with the doctor, and with her plans for escape. It’s well done and interesting, if not great.