Directed by:
Sebastian SchipperCinematography:
Sturla Brandth GrøvlenComposer:
Nils FrahmCast:
Laia Costa, Frederick Lau, Franz Rogowski, Burak Yigit, Max Mauff, André Hennicke, Martin Goeres, Ernst Stötzner, Lena Klenke, Adolfo Assor, Philipp Kubitza (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Living in Berlin for a three-month working trip, Spanish waitress Victoria (Laia Costa) spends her days working in a cafe and her nights indulging in the German capital's nightlife. After a late night out clubbing with Sonne (Frederick Lau), Boxer (Franz Rogowski), Blinker (Burak Yigit) and Fuss (Max Mauff), Victoria finds herself caught up in the group's plans to pull off an ambitious bank heist later that same night. (Artificial Eye)
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Reviews (10)
Film as a performance and it's up to you how you take the ending. Unlike the others, I am instead convinced that the one-take method here is closely intertwined with the content, which simply wouldn't work without it. The genius loci of early Berlin, where anything goes, plays one of the main roles here; those who have ever drunkenly and drugged their way through the morning big city will particularly appreciate the immediacy of the first half of the film, which otherwise functions as a notoriously overwrought introduction to the narrative and characters. In a clever move, I find that the non-native speakers communicate with each other in broken English, which paradoxically simplifies their communication with the viewer, which is always limited to cutely futile bare sentences and not burdened with superstructure. Which can generally be applied to the whole film. The problem, paradoxically, arises once the plot gets going, when many imbecilic decisions can no longer be excused by adrenaline, alcohol, and drugs, but instead increase in intensity and, thanks to a narrative in real time, we drink in their consequences throughout. The uncomfortable tension that otherwise makes the whole film a veritable festival of viewer discomfort is thus transformed into a relentless facepalm and gnashing of teeth, as the one-take method is now becoming ossified and continues to lack formal attraction. It's only there, and it's only for one take. Nothing more (nothing less). P.S. For a woman who unsuccessfully went to pee at the beginning of the film, Victoria ended up making it through the next two and a half hours just fine. I had always suspected during my school days that girls go to the bathroom partly out of boredom.
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"I'm reluctant to rate it with the hackneyed phrase of "form overshadowed content", though it's pretty much the best way to describe it. In any case, the chosen format "in real time" is bold and ambitious, everything is in constant motion, it is made as one uninterrupted shot and through several different moods and genres it can be undeniably engaging, intense and as “Mann-style" captivating in many scenes as anything else. However, when something does happen (and it does more than it is appropriate), then the chosen form is on the contrary the cause of complete alienation and total exclusion from the movie, when you get so bored that you start noticing the smallest technical and production aspects, how they did a sloppy job in some scenes, and you will not pay that much attention to what is (not) happening on the screen. It's just the whole footage follows the sinusoid curve, for some time it is great, while some time it is out of place. Yet at the end of the day, what is the worst thing about this movie is a way too long, unjustified footage, especially the opening hour. As a result, I would be much more interested in watching a documentary showing how this movie was created including its pitfalls rather than watching the movie itself. Still, great job! We cannot deny that it is something that no one has ever tried before in such a scale. And more importantly, this movie is rather a success than a failure.
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Man, I really wanted to love this film, but it just didn’t happen. I absolutely adore long, unbroken shots, so I expected to be blown away by a movie shot in one continuous take. And while the cinematography is flawless, the story just doesn’t hold up. I get that creating a coherent plot for this kind of format is challenging, but I couldn’t get past the sheer stupidity of the main characters, especially Victoria. I should be rooting for her, but she’s just so frustratingly naive. The whole thing feels implausible and left me unconvinced. However, I have to admit, even though a lot about this film annoyed me, it stuck with me for days afterward. It did leave an impression, which says something. Maybe I’ll give it another go and see if I appreciate it more, but I have a feeling the glaring foolishness of the characters will still be a tough pill to swallow.
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This is a triumph of form over content. Hats off to the creativity and all the preparations that had to precede making this movie to make it all come together in one coherent continuous shot. Unfortunately, what makes this movie incredibly underwhelming is the behaviour of characters, who make the most stupid decisions possible just to give some direction to the melodrama. Plus, since the movie makes it so the audience is locked in with these idiots for a full one-hundred and forty minutes, the audience is then fully able to feel the effects of both their incomprehensible actions and the unnecessarily overlong running time more intensely.
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The film definitely has a good pace and the characters are quite intense, plus it develops maybe a little differently than you expect at first glance. It's a ride, almost in real time, with an interesting camera and interesting editing. However, it didn't manage to engage me in a way that I would outright admire the film.
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