Christian Petzold’s beguiling and restorative new drama “Miroirs No. 3” begins with a glance and a car crash.

Wreckage and its long-term aftermath have long marked the movies of Petzold, arguably Germany’s foremost filmmaker. In his finest and most exquisitely haunting film, 2014’s “Phoenix,” an Auschwitz survivor and cabaret singer (Nina Hoss, colossally good) returns unrecognized to her German hometown with a reconstructed face, to a husband who’s said to have betrayed her to the Nazis.

“Miroirs No. 3” doesn’t have that film’s grandiosity of melodrama; it’s more of a lightly enigmatic chamber piece. But it’s likewise preoccupied with piecing life together again after tragedy, and maybe finding some catharsis in music. (The title comes from a Ravel piano piece.) And its startling power will, like “Phoenix,” sneak up on you.

Laura (Paula Beer, the star of Petzold’s “Undine” and “Transit”), a piano student from Berlin, is reluctantly riding in the backseat of a car. Our first glimpse of her, before this road trip, was staring blankly, maybe suicidally, into a river. With Laura is her musician boyfriend, Jakob (Philip Froissant) and a producer that Jakob is hoping to impress. As they drive through the countryside, Laura locks eyes with a solitary middle-aged woman standing outside her home. For a fleeting moment they share a mysterious connection, maybe of some shared strain of depression.

Soon after, Laura says she wants to return to Berlin and Jakob, annoyed, drives her to the nearest train station. But just after again passing the same woman’s house, they skid off the road in a wreck that kills Jakob and throws Laura from the car. The woman runs to help. After the paramedics arrive and treat a still dazed Laura, they’re surprised at her request. She asks if she can stay at the woman’s house, rather than go to the hospital.

What follows is a sweetly oblique, even dreamlike interlude of recuperation. But it’s not just Laura’s. It’s also healing for the woman who happily takes her in. Betty is her name, and Barbara Auer’s performance is as deft and delicate as any you’re likely to see this year. Their time together is spent not discussing their own traumas, but with soft, unspoken kindnesses and daily routine.

Petzold, who also wrote the script, is masterful at meting out backstory. He does it in a way that never feels like withholding to the audience or girding for a big twist, but remains tied to the psychology of his characters. As much as his films might ebb and flow with grief and recovery, their backbone is that of a thriller. Petzold, a great admirer of Hitchcock and “Vertigo,” in particular, makes movies where identity, rather than people, can go missing.

The source of Betty’s pain isn’t revealed until well into “Miroirs,” but it’s not hard to guess at. We learn that her husband Richard (Matthias Brandt) and their adult son Max (Enno Trebs) — auto mechanics who look skeptically on Laura’s arrival — live separate of Betty. Meanwhile, Betty gives Laura her daughter’s clothes to wear, and encourages her to play the piano her daughter used to. Together, they paint a fence and restore a herb garden.

Strange as their domestic life might seem, something warm and good is taking place. We have the feeling Richard and Max haven’t been around much, even though their shop is just a bike ride away. But the four soon begin to almost resemble a family unit. In a movie about two women who intuitively understand each other, Brandt and Trebs are charmingly oafish as men who are eager to fix a dishwasher but less keen on how to repair trauma.

That this idyll is bound to expire, sooner or later, goes without saying. But while another filmmaker might steer such a story toward either disaster or, more likely, schmaltz, Petzold ends “Miroirs” without sacrificing the ambiguous grace that came before. And he turns “Miroirs,” a slender and sweet 86-minute puzzle, into one of the more lovely and profound little movies about how hearts can be mended by just opening a door.

“Miroirs No. 3,” a 1-2 Special release in theaters, is not rated by the Motion Picture Association. In German, with subtitles. Running time: 86 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

WHEN CALLS THE HEART: BROOKFIELD streams on Great American Family and Pure Flix. The Season 3 opener, “Gratitude,” picks up the morning after the cattle raids, as Brookfield faces the aftermath of danger and uncertainty. The residents wake to destruction; farmers assess damaged property and neighbors check on one another. The first episode of Season 3 of WHEN CALLS THE HEART: BROOKFIELD delivers high production value with authentic sets and beautiful costumes that highlight the small-town charm fans love. Expansive shots of the surrounding landscapes draw viewers into every corner of the community, while the actors heighten the drama with heartfelt performances

The first episode of Season 3 of WHEN CALLS THE HEART: BROOKFIELD contains a strong Biblical and Christian worldview with an emphasis on community, helping others and protecting your neighbor. Characters discuss starting a local church and interview a prospective preacher who speaks on trusting God’s timing and presents a Bible. While the episode delivers wholesome entertainment, there is action violence and peril. An unmarried couple discusses kissing, shares a kiss and embrace. Otherwise, Season 3 of WHEN CALLS THE HEART: BROOKFIELD opens championing Christian values, inspiring viewers with hope, courage and uplifting entertainment.

(BB, CC, V, S, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

A strong Biblical and Christian worldview with an emphasis on community, helping others and protecting your neighbor. Characters discuss starting a local church and interview a prospective preacher who speaks on trusting God’s timing and presents a Bible. A woman selflessly cares for orphans. Pro-law enforcement element as Mounties protect and serve their community;

Foul Language:

No foul language but some unkind language with the use of words like idiot, scamps, scoundrels and snake in the grass;

Violence:

Instances of action violence, a man kidnaps, binds and threatens a woman, characters follow a trail of blood to capture an outlaw, characters brandish guns and shoot at each other. A man has a bloody arm from being clipped by a bullet, a man burns his hand lighting fireworks, a character hits another on the head with a shovel, a man tackles a man to the ground and punches him in the face;

Sex:

An unmarried couple discuss kissing, share a kiss and embrace;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

No alcohol use;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drug use,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Characters discuss bribery and speak on not trusting banks to hold their money.

WHEN CALLS THE HEART: BROOKFIELD streams on Great American Family and Pure Flix. The Season 3 opener, “Gratitude,” picks up the morning after the cattle raids, as Brookfield faces the aftermath of danger and uncertainty. The residents wake to destruction; farmers assess damaged property and neighbors check on one another.

The first episode of Season 3 of WHEN CALLS THE HEART: BROOKFIELD delivers high production value with authentic sets and beautiful costumes that highlight the small-town charm fans love. Expansive shots of the surrounding landscapes draw viewers into every corner of the community, while the actors heighten the drama with heartfelt performances.

The episode opens with the town restoring safety after rustlers brought chaos to Brookfield. Local Mounties, Russell, and Donovan are on the case to track the mastermind. Meanwhile, Tess lands in danger when wounded outlaw, Jerry Huntsman, captures her, confesses his involvement in crimes and threatens her life.

Hannah balances her fashion design projects with her commitment to help Wyatt with work responsibilities. Hannah plans to open a permanent bakery, planting roots in the recovering community. Sam and Maggie explore a possible romance after sharing a kiss the night before. Nora discovers a troubling secret about her former boss that may carry serious legal consequences.

The first episode of Season 3 of WHEN CALLS THE HEART: BROOKFIELD has a strong Biblical and Christian worldview with an emphasis on community, helping others and protecting your neighbor. Characters discuss starting a local church and interview a prospective preacher who speaks on trusting God’s timing and presents a Bible.

While the episode delivers wholesome entertainment, there is light action violence and some peril. An unmarried couple discusses kissing and shares a kiss. Otherwise, Season 3 of WHEN CALLS THE HEART: BROOKFIELD opens championing Christian values, inspiring viewers with hope, courage and uplifting entertainment.