Premise: "A young Spanish woman who has recently moved to Berlin finds her flirtation with a local guy turn potentially deadly as their night out with his friends reveals a dangerous secret."
Director: Sebastion Schipper
Starring: Laia Costa
Trivia:
(via IMDB)
It took 3 attempts to film the movie. The take used for the final cut was the third take and completed from 4:30 AM to 7:00 AM on 27 April 2014 in the Kreuzberg and Mitte neighborhoods.
Shot in one single continuous shot (134 minutes).
The original screenplay was very short (only 12 pages), since a large part of the dialogue was improvised. Because of this, the writers are credited for story and not for screenplay.
Despite its positive reviews, this movie was disqualified for an Academy Award nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category due to its large amounts of English dialogue.
The guy who played the barkeeper at the club is in real life a good friend of director Sebastian Schipper. He selected the piano play for the coffee shop scene and taught Laia Costa how to play the piece or rather how to move her fingers because as a matter of fact she is not playing it by herself.
There are two police cars visible in the movie. The first one, which can be seen right as the guys standing at the corner, is actually fake. The second one is a real Berlin police car. It is passing the shot right after the guys left the corner on their way to the roof.
Sebastian Schipper: when Victoria is leaving the club to get her bike, Schipper walks in the background of the shot. Laia Costa recognized him and gave him a little look before she is looking back at her bike again. He surprised everyone and walked to his car to get his chewing gums.
I made it halfway through and gave up, the movie made me appreciate how movies usually edit things for time. I felt like at an hour in not much happened, so I actually wondered if I was watching the wrong movie, so then I went and watched Veronica, which was also kinda boring but not at the same level.
The one take thing just seems gimmicky.
Ill attempt to go back and watch the last hour +
At some point.
I guess you can blame the improvised dialogue for part of why it is so boring from what I watched.
Is the last half worth watching if I didnt care for the beginning?
Please advise.
You gave up on the first half so I think you just have the film all wrong, by a long shot...heh. Some films slow burn for set up, there are many examples, I'm not going to go into listing them right now. You have to realize that in order for the second half to present as panic laden and claustrophobic there had to be a certain amount of normalcy prior to the bank robbery because these guys weren't seasoned criminals and they sure as shit weren't bank robbers. By and large these were normal guys, maybe on the shady side, but by and large normal guys.
Another thing is that its a single take film, this isn't a blockbuster AAA 100 million dollar budget edited for days film so there will be some downside to that but the HUGE upside is that when something does happen, such as a bank heist or a police chase, its happening in real time, there are no cuts. So when they are discussing what to do, should they do the robbery, not do it, when they are freaking out, its a real time situation. They only have minutes to decide something that will alter the path of their lives.
This is not a normal, traditional film guys, its an experience. Its meant almost as an experiment. I mean basically the first half is the set up of these "normal young people" who are partying on rooftops and living their life to the moment they drive into the parking garage and the entire film changes. There is a tonal change in the film that produces the panic that follows. Its sudden, and jarring because we go from a normal sort of evening to having only about 15 minutes to get ready to do a bank robbery. They had only 5 minutes to arrive at the crime bosses HQ and then after that they only had minutes to arrive at the bank for the 7:45am heist. There was never any time to think or talk about what they should actually do, it was just happening. Just the way the car wouldn't start for Victoria produces feelings of dread.
Then of course, they are so elated to have got away with it that they hit the club and start doing stupid shit. Once again, a side effect of that normalcy. They are not practiced criminals. Just the fact that they get away from the bank robbery seems so unlikely that when they do the celebration feels real. Prior to the getting their hands on some cash they could barely afford to buy a beer. You also have the cultural differences between say, the U.S. and Europe, that is another interesting element of what is going on during this slow burn first half but if you give up before the payoff then that's on you. I also found that some of the characters were compelling, like Victoria and Sonne. Yea, they do fucked up shit but they are likeable, I found myself pulling for them, especially after we find out about Victoria's piano life.
In the end Victoria, who was awesome in this film, was the only one that gained anything. She had the money to start a new life or go back to school, or something, something better than what she had which seems like just desserts since she was just trying to help her new friends in a foreign country. Don't give up on this film. Its not a perfect blockbuster but it has something special to offer. There is a moment in time you are witnessing about how the characters get caught up in a moment and spiral down an unintended path.
Its not perfect, it has problems, but as a low budget foreign flick, filmed all in a single continuous shot, I'll defend it. Come at me.
I made it halfway through and gave up, the movie made me appreciate how movies usually edit things for time. I felt like at an hour in not much happened, so I actually wondered if I was watching the wrong movie, so then I went and watched Veronica, which was also kinda boring but not at the same level.
The one take thing just seems gimmicky.
Ill attempt to go back and watch the last hour +
At some point.
I guess you can blame the improvised dialogue for part of why it is so boring from what I watched.
Is the last half worth watching if I didnt care for the beginning?
Please advise.
In the end I enjoyed this and feel it was worth the watch and will ultimately be a memorable experience. Didn't start that way though. The first 45 minutes were painful and I couldn't wait for it to end. Was hating strongly disliking @MusterX. Then the stream crapped out. Fuck. And it had taken me some time to find one. Here was the perfect opportunity to tap out. But, since I'm leading this club I felt it's my duty to fully watch any film we select. So a bit later a new stream was found. But it wasn't subtitled! Omg. Tried two more. No subs. Fuck it. Victoria doesn't understand what they're saying either so good enough.
So now we get to the bank robbery aspect and things pick up. Suddenly I wanna know what's being said in German. Retried the crapped out stream with subtitles and no luck. @Tufts did a little sleuthing and said they're pulling a bank robbery. Finally some action. What's funny is when the three got in the car and jumped back out for the practice run, there was a moment I thought they were gonna use the guns they'd been given to snatch back Victoria and make a break for it. Nope. But in retrospect, them practicing might have been the only humor in the film. I'll add that the robbery was a totally surprising turn. The movie felt from the get-go like something bad was gonna happen. In @Zer fashion I was expecting a rape instead.
The film from that point is totally intense. The acting is on point. The story finally has some meat on it. I was feeling their fatigue, thanks to being worn out with boredom for the prior 45 minutes. Fuck yeah. Shitty movie redeemed.
My only quibbles with the plot would be them going to the club. Seems like you'd be dropping of the loot lickety-split. But hey, before committing the heist they were given coke and (what I think was) molly. Who wouldn't hit the club after their biggest adrenaline rush ever? The other would be Victoria being presented (in my opinion) as getting away with it, but she'd left her prints in the stolen car and the hotel room. She was also surely and surveillance when checking into the hotel, and seen partying it up with the dead bank robbers. But whatever.
Regarding the whole one-shot gimmick, they did an amazing job. From the actors all having to switch moods and reactions in real time, to the fluidity of the cameraman (who rightfully got the first credit at the end). Getting in and out of cars seamlessly was done well. I think it makes this film a genuine achievement in cinema.
Shout out to the location scout who had to find a club, rooftop, cafe, parking garage, bank(?), apartment, and hotel all in close enough proximity to not drag out the transitions longer than necessary.
Having grown up in Europe, I have some questions. It is 4am in a disco, why is she not sweaty?
.
.
Also, why doesn't giphy have a giph of sweaty dancers? The only sweaty dancer I saw was Brittany, and she has been picked on enough #FreeBrittany!
I guess it is because it is the start of the movie and not an important detail. Also, she was in line to go to the bathroom, and didn't... and we all know she doesn't....
I hope that isn't Brittany....
Bartender is very European. No, he doesn't want a shot. No, he doesn't want a tip. Guessing this scene is there to show us how lonely, and also awkward Veronica Victoria is. Now that we know she has spent 7 hours a day for 16.5 years at a conservatory learning piano, we can assume her social skills are somewhat stunted, thus also setting her up to make really dumb decisions like hanging out with 4 dudes she just met in the middle of the night.
This background information allows us to buy into the fact that a beautiful young woman would make the choice to hang out with these "We are the real Berlin" dudes, much like the tumour pregnant wife background made it feasible for Joseph to act weird last week.
I was super impressed with the camera work. You would expect that the one shot approach would result in awkward shots at times, but instead, I found myself forgetting that there was only one camera with no cuts. The movement of the camera and the soundtrack went well together, and definitely set the tempo the director had in mind. During the first half, the camera moved fluidly, with broad sweeps around the protagonists, the music was fluid. While the meet cute was a little long, I understand that it was to make us focus on the mundane in anticipation of the second half, where the actions of the protagonists are more impulsive and the camera movement becomes jerky and disconcerting.
I enjoyed the pride the men felt in their city, and their representation of it: We are the real Berlin. The real Berlin is on the streets, not in the club.
She is lonely, naive, thirsty for experience after being locked up in a piano her whole life, so having just one beer with them feels like an adventure. Feels like living.
Then she and Sonne, (I mean who doesn't trust a guy with a sunny name?) go into Farouk's store. This shows they are in their own neighbourhood, and wind up stealing. We see an escalation of the mischief, and she is down for it, to the point where she adorably steals the nuts. Her conscious rears up a little when she realizes it is actually stealing, but in a playful way when she starts back to the store to leave the money.
A little homophobia throw in, coz why? To make it realistic? Do you have to be homophobic to be a real Berliner?
We see Victoria and Sonne's relationship developing. On the bike she says: You touch my ass. Say sorry, with heart.
Made me wonder if had they fallen off, they would have just kept it as part of the movie. The rapport is being built, and I wondered at the size of the camera when they all fit in the elevator. My experience with elevators in Europe is they are not very big.
By lifting her and having her open the stair lid (I don't know what to call this), they made her complicit in their trespassing. We see her naivete and innocence, and lack of awareness of what is actually happening, when she dances and then screams on the rooftop. I did not like when whomever yelled: Shut the fuck up.
Then they smoke the doobie and she plays on the ledge. Here we see her desire to push bounderies, to feel something besides a hard piano seat under her but. First she asks: Do you want to jump? But then she comes back to reality and says she needs to go to work. There is a struggle between responsibility and adventure. For now, responsibility wins.
Guessing this scene is there to show us how lonely, and also awkward Veronica Victoria is. Now that we know she has spent 7 hours a day for 16.5 years at a conservatory learning piano, we can assume her social skills are somewhat stunted, thus also setting her up to make really dumb decisions like hanging out with 4 dudes she just met in the middle of the night.
That's also part of why I forgive the slow start. At some point we need to be convinced she's developed enough of a relationship that she'd go rob a bank with guys she met an hour ago.
Ps. Did you mean to just copy/paste your notes like that?
That's also part of why I forgive the slow start. At some point we need to be convinced she's developed enough of a relationship that she'd go rob a bank with guys she met an hour ago.
Ps. Did you mean to just copy/paste your notes like that?
Her notes perfectly encapsulate the feeling of what occurred during a long continuous take and I hope she leaves them up. I'll reply to both of you in a little bit, busy just now.
The meet cute continues. Lots of banter about being a good driver, about how the guy who yelled at them for being on the sidewalk was just mad coz he didn't have a wife.
More of the we are real Berlin, getting double cold cocoa, and then the piano where we have the exposition that makes Victoria's choices more believable. We also learn that she only makes 4 euros an hour.
And Victoria says: I should kill my boss.....
She has a bit of a dark side, even though this is all playful in nature.
More meet cute.... It is getting a little long at this point.
The other dudes show up. They leave and she brushes teeth. Made me wonder if she lives in the cafe, or is just that into dental hygiene.
At this point our feed went caput, and we were unable to find another with subtitles, so instead we embraced the experience of only understanding what Victoria understood. Please feel free to fill me in on any important German dialogue we may have missed.
Fuzz is drunk. They go rob the bank to save Boxer. The part where they rehearse was pretty funny. Although the scene where the real baddy grabbed her and "checked her for exactly what" was annoying and you see on her face that for the first time, she realizes she may be in over her head. She is an amazingly expressive actress, at no point was her face not beautifully expressive.
At this point I noticed a change in pace with the camera from languid to frantic. Also, not sure what happened with drugs coz I was getting a cup of tea. I think they did drugs, which makes no sense before robbing a bank.
I also had a question about time... was this supposed to be in real time? Coz they left the disco at 4 and @MusterX mentioned earlier that the robbery was at 7:45, but only an 1 hour had passed of watch time.
A moment to mention I was absolutely fascinated with the camera work getting in and out of the cars. That took some real skill. The actors had a specific choreography they had to follow for this to work. Very impressive.
I enjoyed the discordant soundtrack when they stopped coz longish hair dude freaked out. Victoria to the rescue. These guys would have been useless more useless without her.
More cool camera work. The camera gets back in car. Disguises movement by filming outside guy getting in, and then her getting in from the inside. You barely notice the movement of the camera past the metal of the door frame.
At this point it starts to feel like the cameraman is another protagonist. A fifth person who is telling the story through their eyes. Or perhaps is the audience brought into the film.
We have a tight close up on Victoria and the pace slows as the city awakens. There is a claustrophobic feel in the car that probably mirrors the fear they are all feeling. They run into the bank. The car stalls. And now we feel Victoria's panic. The camera starts jerking around. She is no longer playing a role in an adventure, she is instead smack dab in the middle of a felony (do they call them felonies in Europe?) and she is panicked and afraid. For the first time she breaks into Spanish: Dímelo bien…. (say it correctly) as she struggles to drive in the right direction.
Dímelo is also a famous Enrique Iglesias song. I include it here for your edification and delight....
And we are back at the club. The men now have money, and they are throwing it around.
And they certainly seem high... high coz they got away? Or is it those drugs I didn't see?
And then there is some making out. Some violence. Some nudity.
The techno switches to romantic piano as we watch the silhouettes of them dancing and throwing Victoria around. She and Sonne finally kiss. Blue light dominates the visuals. I liked the contrast between the piano music and the visual, violent chaos. The techno comes back, as do all the other colors.
And on the way out, Victoria breaks into Spanish for the second time: Un beso o tu vida (A kiss or your life) - a little hint of what is to come.
A now the action starts back up. They see the cops finding Fuzz in the car. I guess he has plausible deniability since he was passed out. Not that I think anyone would believe him.
More jerky camera movement while they were running. We see the fear on Victoria's face as shit gets real again. And then we have some shooting and death. Since we don't Sprechen Sie Deutsch, we were not sure if they were being shot at by cops or the big baddies. Turns out it was the cops. Hey this is Europe, why were they shooting so quickly?
In the flat. I did not enjoy the terrorizing of the mother and the taking of the baby. What we do see, however, is Victoria take control of the situation: We’re good people (to the mom). Shut the fuck up (to Sonne). She is at her wits end and slaps him before yelling: Put your clothes on.
When Sonne pulls the gun on the mom, Victoria breaks into Spanish for the third and last time ¿Qué haces joder? (What the fuck are you doing?).
Why would they be allowed to leave the building? And those hats were suspicious. I was surprised they were not sent back up.
We have some release of tension in the taxi. Hugging and incomprehensible input coz we don't Sprechen Sie Deutsch
In the hotel we see the first of two shots that show her walking away. This time she gets them a room. The second time is the final shot in the film.
They go to the room. He dies. She cries. Pulling off this scene after filming 2 hours is impressive.
I had a moment here where I wondered about the sound production. At no point were there issues with sound. Where were the mics? Were there sound booms?
The movie ends with her blending into the city walls as she walks away. And the first credit shown is: Kamera.
I'm glad I watched this. It was an experience for sure. The camera work was superb, as was Laia Costa's work. She absolutely carried the film.
I was left with two questions:
1. How could this have been made shorter?
2. Are we to expect she got away?
The other would be Victoria being presented (in my opinion) as getting away with it, but she'd left her prints in the stolen car and the hotel room. She was also surely and surveillance when checking into the hotel, and seen partying it up with the dead bank robbers. But whatever.
That's also part of why I forgive the slow start. At some point we need to be convinced she's developed enough of a relationship that she'd go rob a bank with guys she met an hour ago.
Ps. Did you mean to just copy/paste your notes like that?
No. I was playing with inserting images. And then when I was done, the images were in text form. Grr. So then I found them again, and then I was told I had too many pics. Sherdog just can't keep up with my output! You're right when you say the system does not like me.
Her notes perfectly encapsulate the feeling of what occurred during a long continuous take and I hope she leaves them up. I'll reply to both of you in a little bit, busy just now.
A now the action starts back up. They see the cops finding Fuzz in the car. I guess he has plausible deniability since he was passed out. Not that I think anyone would believe him.
This is funny to think about. That poor dude. I'd actually thought they left him back at the cafe. His story of getting fucked up and passing out on his birthday is certainly believable.
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