TORONTO—The delicate task of making a Second World War film has gotten even tougher of late.

Since 2009’s Inglourious Basterds, American filmmakers have seemingly run out of gas on bringing a new spin to the biggest global conflict of the past century. Recent studio releases The Monuments Men, Fury, and Unbroken all had Oscar buzz in the months leading up to their release, and all failed to live up to the hype. The Imitation Game also had some heat, but that was on the back of Benedict Cumberbatch. It turns out the most compelling recent release about the war is a small independent picture—from Germany.

In Christian Petzold’s Phoenix, opening Friday (May 15), a young Jewish-German woman named Nelly (Nina Hoss) undergoes facial surgery after surviving the Holocaust. When she finally arrives in Berlin and finds her husband—who may or may not have turned her over to the Nazis—he doesn’t recognize her. Instead, he sees just enough of a resemblance to enlist Nelly in a scheme to claim her own inheritance.

“It was very intense, because you have to concentrate so much,” Hoss said in an interview with the Georgia Straight at the most recent Toronto International Film Festival, where the film made its North American debut. “Ultimately, you are aware of the responsibility you have, especially as a German production. As an actress, I had to let go of all of that. I had to trust to give that to the other side, that the overall view and the morality of it all was in good hands. And I have to really specifically look for what is going on with my character in each moment and be aware for everything that happens and to be inspired and imaginative. I think it was much more intense than every other movie we’ve done.”

She said “we” because of her relationship with director Petzold. Phoenix marked their sixth time on the set together, but it also signified a departure from their previous collaborations. “I think in this case he relied on me,” the German-born actor admitted. “He kind of let me go and I was able to interpret it the way I saw it. I can’t talk about it [before shooting]; I can’t even rehearse it—it needs the moment with the camera to see what’s happening. So we trust each other.”

Needless to say, from the downright gruesome early surgery scenes to the unexpected deaths and the greasiness of Nelly’s husband, there are some cringeworthy moments in Phoenix. For Hoss, however, one scene was definitely harder than the rest.

“The moment where she talks about what she experiences in the camp,” Hoss stated. “I really wanted to get it right—that it’s not sentimental, that it’s not tragic in any way, that it’s understandable. That’s the way that I tell the story, that a horror shows itself without asking for pity.”