Victoria

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.

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.

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've seen Enter the Void, Funny Games, Descent... And just other awesomely unique films that left me pondering for more and wanting to read into every possible angle I could think of. I then usually want to write my own review but I'm usually too lazy to even make an account to write one up. Well this film inspired me enough to do so. That almost says enough right there but I'll give my reasoning for why I can't get this film out of my head. I should probably first say that as an American without having any subtitles- it made this movie ever more confusing and intense. I truly felt like I was Victoria. I wouldn't have made any of the decisions she chose to make but come on people- It's a movie- get over it! Especially with something like this. It's not even about the actions taking place as it is the emotions that the characters portray and instantly it relates to you b/c you've been "hanging out" with them for the whole movie. This movie is just awesome how you just become Victoria essentially and you're on this mysterious 2 hr journey that doesn't stop. There's no cuts to explosions and pointless deaths. It's not quite the smoothest ride but that builds the intensity until there's finally a simple plot satisfaction that would leave most Americans less satisfied b/c we overall don't know what's good for us. Needless to say though, I've never felt more on edge and like I had an actual real life experience from a movie. Other than of course the masterful camera work and direction, there's nothing absolutely spectacular to tell you to look out for-- It's just a solid movie experience that provides a full spectrum of good acting, mystery, action, emotionally driven scenes backed by a great soundtrack. If you want to watch a movie and you're insanely tired of the same ole crap- this just isn't a unique idea for a movie-- it is a movie idea that was executed perfectly and left me wanting more and believing in what I saw. Watch It! Watch It now!

As a Berlin native (and around the same age as the protagonists) I really sunk into this movie. The endless club nights, the locations, the expats, the shitty drunk English conversations, even the childish nagging between Sonne, Boxer, Blinker and Fuss hit home. For me it was wonderful to see how "accurate" these characters were displayed, since I now at least one real person that fits each character.

Now, I'm not just giving this movie a pass for that alone. Amazingly, most of the dialogue was improvised, which is an achievement for itself, but also adds to the realism of the characters. And listen guys, the whole movie is ONE SINGLE SHOT! That's right. You will witness a +2 hour movie with countless changing locations and improvised dialogue. And I haven't even talked about the score. Nils Frahm knows what he is doing when changing techno with slow pace ambient.

While I agree that in between the pace of the movie is slow, it never took me out of the movie. The story, while being nothing special, lives through the characters and cinematic style.

If you have the chance to witness this movie in the theaters, I wholeheartedly recommend it.