Victoria (2015) - MOTY Contender! 138 minute German thriller drama shot in a SINGLE take!

[TheGodling]

Shot in a single take, the movie starts with Victoria, a Spanish girl clubbing in Berlin, meeting up and joining four local Berlin friends as they hit the town. Their wild night of partying takes a dramatic turn when a local crime boss calls in a favor owed by one of the friends to commit a bank robbery.

The film is shot in one single long take by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen from about 4:30 to 7:00 in the Kreuzberg and Mitte neighborhoods. Director Sebastian Schipper completed the filming in three attempts. The script consisted of twelve pages, with most of the dialogue being improvised.

Just saw this and I gotta pay homage and quote @Nature Boy Ric Flair on this one because it's

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! status, brehs!

Seriously, words can't describe how fukking good the movie is. How about the fact that the movie actually takes it time build and decides to really blow your mind until about an hour in. Like at first you get how they could've done this in a single take but then the lead actress stands upright on the back of a bicycle as they ride through the street and you're kinda like 'Okay, that's kinda a cool risky could-go-wrong-easily scene' but then five to ten minutes later she's playing piano in a scene almost as intense as the ending performance in Whiplash and you really start to fathom what's happening here and that's before the actual heist/robbery part of the plot is even introduced, and needless to say that's where things get truly insane.

Sure, in some spots it's kinda rough around the edges where you can tell the actors are improvising dialogue or making tiny mistakes like stumbling over words but the swag of the lead actor (a German mixture of Tom Hardy and a young Jeff Bridges) is so effortless that you don't even mind it, plus it adds to the realistic feel of the movie. The real star though is undoubtedly lead actress Laia Costa who really, really, nails every bit of the movie, and she's pretty much on-screen for the full 138 minute running time.

So yeah, the most technically impressive cinematic achievement of the year 2015 might already be here, and unlike last year's Birdman this one actually works as a convincing and hard-hitting drama too. If you want your top 10 for this year to be taken seriously, this is one of the movies that has to be on it.

 

[Dominic Brehetto]

 

[Bathing Ape]

Is it already out? If so link?

 

[FlyRy]

Inarritu be like we off that

 

[ThaGlow]

First impression, it says one take mad times in the trailer, so they definitely selling that, hella gimmicky. But if I ever do see it, hopefully it will be good as you say.

 

[Brandeezy]

Probably fake one shot like Birdman, they edited the film real closely so can't tell that they put two scenes together

 

[kingdarius]

heard this movie was just solid, nothing major....i'll peep it when it hits the innanets tho

 

[Big Blue]

A single take?

 

[HookersandIceCream]

Sounds stupid
Negged

 

[TheGodling]

Is it already out? If so link?

I think it hits (limited) theaters in the US early October.

First impression, it says one take mad times in the trailer, so they definitely selling that, hella gimmicky. But if I ever do see it, hopefully it will be good as you say.

It's not because it actually adds to the intensity as the movie slowly builds from the flirtatious relationship of the main characters to a ride-or-die struggle to just make it out alive. And because you witness this process in real time as if you're there with them helps being drawn in by it

Probably fake one shot like Birdman, they edited the film real closely so can't tell that they put two scenes together

Nope, it's a real single take movie like Russian Arc. As mentioned in the OP, most dialog was improvised by the actors and you can definitely tell it sometimes, as well as the camera occasionally losing focus and needing readjustment.

Speaking of, I gotta give my respect to the filmmakers because the camera man/cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen is actually the first person credited when the end credits roll, ahead of the director, producers and actors. Real classy and truly deserving.

And in a strange case of Coli Film Room connections, the guy was also the cinematographer of Rams/Hrútar, this year's Cannes Un Certain Regard winner and the movie @StraxStrax has been hyping up for months now because some people he knows worked on it.

http://www.thecoli.com/threads/rams-trailer-cannes-un-certain-regard-2015-winner.316257/

It's a small world when it comes to "pretentious eurofag" cinema I guess. :gawdling:

 

[StraxStrax]

Its hella strange having the main cast speaking english and switching over to german in some scenes.

 

[TheGodling]

Its hella strange having the main cast speaking english and switching over to german in some scenes.

Well, they were Germans hanging out with a girl who didn't speak German very well, so that would happen. I also figured it was a clever trick of protecting the actors from any line fukk-ups because you could just rationalize it due to the language barrier and communication problems. The same way I figured the director had the main cast all coming of a night of partying so again any line fukk-ups or accidental tripping or whatever can be rationalized away due to them being drunk and tired.

 

[StraxStrax]

Well, they were Germans hanging out with a girl who didn't speak German very well, so that would happen. I also figured it was a clever trick of protecting the actors from any line fukk-ups because you could just rationalize it due to the language barrier and communication problems. The same way I figured the director had the main cast all coming of a night of partying so again any line fukk-ups or accidental tripping or whatever can be rationalized away due to them being drunk and tired.

Ok, the trailer didn't make the poorly German speaking girl bit clear so that makes sense along with your other assumptions

 

[TheGodling]

Ok, the trailer didn't make the poorly German speaking girl bit clear so that makes sense along with your other assumptions

Yeah, the main character Victoria is a girl from Spain who has only lived in Berlin for the past three months nearly all of the interaction between her and the four main guys is a mixture of English and German.

 

[StraxStrax]

Yeah, the main character Victoria is a girl from Spain who has only lived in Berlin for the past three months nearly all of the interaction between her and the four main guys is a mixture of English and German.

I'll watch it. Sturla knows whats up.