Victoria

A night out alone for a Spanish immigrant, in a nightclub drinking shots she meets some guys she may lament, as they grab her by the hand and in one take she is enraptured, everything that she then does is caught on film, one piece all captured. On the streets over two hours where the past recalls a debt, a modest bank transaction to acquire, seek out and get, best laid plans do not turn out to be effective or thought through, it's not long before the state is chasing, running, lights on blue.

Wonderful performances all round, in a film that takes your breath away with what it seeks to achieve, and ultimately does spectacularly.

Shot in real time, filmed in one continuous take & made all the more believable by excellent performances from its cast, Victoria has that foreboding ambiance that keeps giving off the vibe that something unfortunate is about to happen all the time and even though its single- take gimmick is attention grabbing, it's the story & characters that hold this film together.

Victoria covers a couple of hours in the life of its titular character, a young Spanish woman in Berlin who, while leaving a club one early morning, meets four local guys who invite her to hang out with them for a while, to which she agrees. Although her adventurous night out with them ends on an amicable note, a last-minute favour asked by the guys alters her life forever.

Co-written & directed by Sebastian Schipper, the story of Victoria could've been easily told without the filmmakers trying to be ambitious with the camera but that added inventiveness brings an admiration of its own. The first half establishes the background of the characters as they stroll through Berlin streets & roofs but the next half is one nail-bitingly tense thriller that ups the ante considerably.

Its single take lasting 138 minutes might be the combined result of clever editing, seamless switching & careful masking but what impressed me most is the fact that despite it being an impressive technical feat, it never for once overshadows the unfolding drama which remains the centerpiece throughout its runtime. The actors are highly convincing in their given roles, which only gets better as the plot progresses, and it only helps in further uplifting the story.

On an overall scale, Victoria ends on a far better note than where it appeared to be heading during the first act, keeps its main focus on the titular character from beginning to end, and manages to be an emotionally rewarding experience with or without the one-shot gimmick. Devoting as much attention to its story as it invests in pulling off its technically challenging production, this German thriller deserves to be ranked amongst the finest films of this year. Thoroughly recommended.

One of the best 2015 releases (the best of those I've seen at least), Victoria is a complete surprise - a little-known team hits it out of the park ... by a few miles. Much has been said about the one-take "gimmick" - trust me, whoever calls this a gimmick can not have seen Victoria. The way the camera moves, breathes and lives with the protagonists (ultra-realistic play here and perfect casting) is simply outstanding. It's a small, actually a stupid crime story; the protagonists are all drunk and/or high (and not too bright in the beginning, except the titular Victoria) - a bit like a Coen story, but where the Coens prefer an ironic, satirical approach - always keeping that little distance between watcher and screen - Victoria draws us right in from minute one and only lets go in the last 15 seconds. You can't lean back and smile about the crazy, idiotic antics of those wannabe small-time gangsters, no, you're right in there with them and have to suffer through every bad decision with them. And on the other hand, it's also a tender getting-in-love story (of a kind) - and the same applies: As much as you'd like to shout at Victoria: "Step back, girl! This guy and his friends are BAD NEWS!! Don't get involved!!!" - you can't do that, because, you know, the neighbors might hear ... you have to live and suffer through those more than 2 hours with them.

This is what movie-making is all about.

I never really write reviews or tell anyone about the stuff I watch, but for Victoria, I just had to make an exception

I was never so drawn into a movie before, it was amazing. The characters act so natural you really feel like you are experiencing this night with them for real. No 3D or any fancy stuff that movies do today can draw you into a film this much.

Sometimes during the movie - because all the location changes are perfect - I wondered how much time since the beginning of the movie has passed in "their world" - and then it came to me! You are with them all along, there is no timeskip, no narrating, nothing that could put your focus away from whats important:

The five characters and that fateful night.

I tell everyone I meet that they should go watch this movie: once this has been to a few more filmfestivals and stuff, there is no doubt that it will become a massive hit. I think this movie even surpasses "the life of the others" and I definitely would recommend it as one of the best German movies I know.

Victoria, I am sad to say, is largely overrated despite the truly mesmerising cinematography. Since the incredible one-take film became widely known, most of the critical consensus agrees that is a fantastic film. I found it only decent. Whilst there are moments of genuine breathless tension, the crime elements are superb, and the ending is good, it seems too often like it is trying to be - and I am loath to use this word - 'artsy'. The script was apparently only 12 pages long (that's about 11 minutes of film per script page) which means almost all of the dialogue is improvised. Which is neat, but does not make for compelling viewing, as the characters apart from the titular protagonist (another positive would be Laia Costa's stupendous performance) just don't have enough depth to be interesting. Were it not for the unique cinematographic excellence this would be nothing more than an average thriller with some decent moments that tried too hard to rise above its station.

But talking of the cinematography...take a bow Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, you magnificent genius. This bests all the works of Emmanuel Lubezki and Roger Deakins, and is simply the best feat of cinematography I've ever seen. Flawlessly transitioning from building to street to car to club to the intensity of a foot race and shoot out, all with the precision and careful craftsmanship of any great film. In fact, after only 15 minutes you're barely noticing it any more. After a while, you may realise that you've literally followed these characters all the way from that club and the mind boggles. It's arguably worth watching just to witness this spectacular achievement - you'll most likely find an entrancing and ambitious effort that has a film tacked on to it with ideas a little above its station and a tendency to be too showy at times. 62/100