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Friday, June 04, 2010
Review: Revanche (Austria, 2008)
Writer/director Götz Spielmann spins a sublime tale of tragedy, guilt, revenge, and forgiveness, while exploring the theme of responsibility and loss creating a potential space for growth. He takes an approach that can best be described as minimalist. Dialogue is sparse, and much of the film plays out slowly and quietly in longer takes, contrasting the profit-driven big city with the cooperation of the natural world, as well as a criminal and a policeman both burdened by overwhelming guilt. The simplicity and glacial pacing could doom a lesser filmmaker, but Spielmann successfully forges a compelling drama out of those elements.
From the grittiness of Vienna to the dignified grace of the rural Austrian landscape, the naturalistic 16mm cinematography of Martin Gschlacht is deceptively understated yet strikingly beautiful. Production designer Maria Gruber creates an equally naturalistic atmosphere with her sets. As part of Spielmann's mimimalist approach, there's no musical score, only some diegetic music in certain scenes.
Johannes Krisch makes an impact as Alex, portraying him as a complex, conflicted man who shows that he can be more than just a hardened criminal, but who must ultimately come to terms with his responsibility for the tragic events in order to move on. Irina Potapenko is believable as Tamara, detailing the soul killing nature of her work and how it contrasts with her relationship with Alex, without descending into the usual clichés of such a role. Andreas Lust and Ursula Strauss both deliver quite good performances as the guilt-ridden policeman and his caring but frustrated wife. Solid performances also come from Hannes Thanheiser as Alex's grandfather and Hanno Pöschl as the sleazy brothel owner.
Revanche isn't a film for everyone. Although it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009, I dare say it's one of those films that you'll either love or hate. I didn't know what I thought at first, but once the end titles rolled, I realized I had been under its spell all along and it left me with much food for thought. Count me in the 'love it' camp.
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
The US Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection features a stunning transfer, full of subtle detail and even striking depth of image at times.
Ex-con Alex (Johannes Krisch) works as a bouncer in a Vienna brothel, where he carries on a secret romance with Ukrainian prostitute Tamara (Irina Potapenko). He wants to take her away to Ibiza, so he plans a bank robbery to fund their escape together. The robbery goes tragically awry, and small town policeman Robert (Andreas Lust) and his wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss) are sucked into its wake.
Writer/director Götz Spielmann spins a sublime tale of tragedy, guilt, revenge, and forgiveness, while exploring the theme of responsibility and loss creating a potential space for growth. He takes an approach that can best be described as minimalist. Dialogue is sparse, and much of the film plays out slowly and quietly in longer takes, contrasting the profit-driven big city with the cooperation of the natural world, as well as a criminal and a policeman both burdened by overwhelming guilt. The simplicity and glacial pacing could doom a lesser filmmaker, but Spielmann successfully forges a compelling drama out of those elements.
From the grittiness of Vienna to the dignified grace of the rural Austrian landscape, the naturalistic 16mm cinematography of Martin Gschlacht is deceptively understated yet strikingly beautiful. Production designer Maria Gruber creates an equally naturalistic atmosphere with her sets. As part of Spielmann's mimimalist approach, there's no musical score, only some diegetic music in certain scenes.
Johannes Krisch makes an impact as Alex, portraying him as a complex, conflicted man who shows that he can be more than just a hardened criminal, but who must ultimately come to terms with his responsibility for the tragic events in order to move on. Irina Potapenko is believable as Tamara, detailing the soul killing nature of her work and how it contrasts with her relationship with Alex, without descending into the usual clichés of such a role. Andreas Lust and Ursula Strauss both deliver quite good performances as the guilt-ridden policeman and his caring but frustrated wife. Solid performances also come from Hannes Thanheiser as Alex's grandfather and Hanno Pöschl as the sleazy brothel owner.
Revanche isn't a film for everyone. Although it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009, I dare say it's one of those films that you'll either love or hate. I didn't know what I thought at first, but once the end titles rolled, I realized I had been under its spell all along and it left me with much food for thought. Count me in the 'love it' camp.
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
The US Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection features a stunning transfer, full of subtle detail and even striking depth of image at times.
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