Skip to main content

Victoria: A review



With films that are shot in one take the majority of focus tends to be on this fact and the difficulty of achieving such a feat. This is understandable as the difficulty of achieving this has made the production of any one-shot film an impossibility till the fairly recent past and the development of digital movie cameras. In 2002, critically acclaimed releases such as Russian Ark and Irreversible were released and while there was sufficient regard for the technical aspect of the films being shot in one-take it was only until Birdman (edited to seem as one take, not actually one take) in 2014 that it could really be said the one-shot entered the realm of regular film criticism.

The posters and trailer for Sebastian Schipper’s Victoria regularly reference the fact that this film was shot in one take. It remains an impressive feat even if they do tell us a lot. Filmed in a couple of hours in the Kreuzberg and Mitte neighbourhoods of Berlin during the early hours of the morning, the director needed only 3 takes to complete the film. Combined with the fact that the script is a bare 12 pages and most of the dialogue is improvised, it is an impressive feat.

The film is not all about the technical effects as there’s more to a film that just quality camerawork. In fact, despite all the hype about the camerawork in the advertising the film itself does not flaunt this technical mastery, leaving lots of time to focus on the story.  Led by stellar performances from Laia Costa and Federick Lau, who progress deeper in character as the film progresses, from fun and sweet into roles with markedly darker and determined aspects.

The premise of the film seems very simple and the opening shots of Victoria dancing in a club and then chatting with a group of guys after exiting seems like we’re being set up for something along the lines of a mumblecore indie romance or a Linklater Euro talkie. It certainly seems that way from the dialogue at the piano between Costa and Lau when they leave the group and are alone at the café Victoria works at. The film does an excellent job of bringing the action to another level from the point where we think it’s done.  Only after Lau’s Sonne leaves the café and we think the film is winding down does the director immediately send us into an unexpected heist film, filled with action, drama and bad decisions.

Transitioning swiftly into a film about a bank robbery and getaway, the tension is ramped up into an intense sequence of the setup of the robbery followed by a surprisingly smooth actual stickup.  Just when it seems we’ve gotten the happy climax via a wholly crazy night out, the director again ramps up the action and we’re given another action sequence with police shootouts and chases between (and into) Berlin apartment complexes.

 It’s hard to write much more without giving away too much but the film manages to stride between the indie beginning and the criminal heist ending successfully. It is a film that could be said to successfully transition between the two genres and should appeal to fans of either. Hopefully it could even be the start of further mixes of these genres.


The film packs a lot into the two hours it runs for. By the end when we see Victoria at the climax of the film it’s as if she’s lived years in those hours. That we get this feeling is due to success of Schipper’s ability to convey a frantic and engrossing film. There may be a sense of improbability at one or two aspects of the film (would the heist really be that smooth when done by drunken criminals with no experience?) but the film more than makes up for these rare moments of disbelief. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Oscar Predictions-Film Awards (i)

Best Director Most likely winner :     Steven Spielberg   for Lincoln. Leaving out Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Quentin Tarantino pretty much made this Spielberg's to lose. And doesn't reflect too well on the Academy either. Backup Pick :    David O. Russell for  Silver Linings Playbook. The production company of Weinstein have been campaigning hard for this and it's a good film with the acting performances set up well. The thing about best director is it's the easiest award to give to someone the academy likes because it's ambiguous and the academy doesn't really love Russell. Most deserving :      Michel Haneke for  Amour. Haneke has the most carefully crafted film here. All in all it is definitely his film in every scene. His presence is all around the film and it is an excellent film. If they give it for the greatest impact a director has on the film, this is it. Best Adapted Screenplay Most li...

10 (20th century) novels that you can summarize the plot of in two lines. and completely miss what makes it good.

10. Remembrance of Things Past ( À la recherche du temps perdu ) - Marcel Proust - 1913–1927 Summary: A man remembers large parts of his past, involuntarily. All because of an incident where he dips a madeleine into tea. In a book where basically nothing happens except the very ordinary life of the narrator, the story still manages to capture one's attention. Also the author manages to make every experience, thought and emotion seem as something that everyone has either experienced or can relate to. Written with almost every word in the vocabulary, it is condensation of innumerable literary, structural, stylistic, and thematic possibilities. 9.Ulysses - James Joyce - 1922 Summary : The entire book follows a day in the life of Leopold Bloom on 16th June 1904 through the streets of Dublin. A deceptively simple plot but while reading the plot itself becomes secondary or even forgotten. Most of what makes this book a classic are the hundreds of references and allusions to other works...

a list about plays (post 1950)

The general perception is good plays stopped being written. That all the plays being performed which remain popular are classics and there is no place for the playwright in the current dramatic world. The role of the playwright has been diminished but good plays have not become extinct in the 20th and 21st century.This list will attempt to reflect that by giving a selection of excellent plays written (and performed) after 1950. 20. Prelude to a Kiss- Craig Lucas. Premiered in California in 1988. Quick Description: Thought to be a metaphor for AIDS. A story about the switching of bodies between a new bride and an old man and how the husband must find the old man while keeping his love alive. Something of a Sci-fi style and one of the most original works in recent times. 19. Long Day's Journey Into Night - Eugene O'Neill.premiered in Stockholm at the Royal Dramatic theatre in 1956. quick summary: A play about addiction and how it affects everyone around the addict.The characters ...