The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (The Criterion Collection)
A striking examination of the power of the police and excesses of the  media,The Lost Honor of Katharina Blumgrows more pertinent every day.  When the police burst into Katharina Blum's apartment, they fail to find the  suspected terrorist they've been tracking and arrest Blum for harboring a  fugitive. Immediately she becomes a media sensation; between the ruthless  interrogation of the police, the even more invasive muckraking of a notorious  tabloid, and harassment from the sensation-hungry public, Blum's ordinary life  is turned inside out until she has to lash out to defend her own sanity. A  German film made in 1975,The Lost Honor of Katharina Blumcould have  been made today in the U.S. Angela Winkler gives a compelling performance as  Katharina, but the entire movie is superbly realized: suspenseful,  compassionate, and shot through with dark humor.--Bret Fetzer