2015 ( Germany ) ( Crime, Drama, Thriller )
(German with English subtitles)
STARRING: Laia Costa, Frederick Lau, Franz Rogowski
DIRECTOR: Sebastian Schipper
One of the most breathtaking films of the year, Victoria is film-making without a safety net. This film is not a movie about a bank robbery. It is a bank robbery. Victoria was shot in one single take. That means no re-shoots, no editing and no stopping regardless of what happens along the way. It sounds like a gimmick but director Sebastian Schipper and his team sustain the whole giddy enterprise for well over two hours, managing to surprise and beguile as we follow an unforgettable night on the streets of Berlin.
The Victoria of the title is a young Spaniard who, while looking for kicks on the streets of Berlin, falls in with a gang of amateur thieves and amid a haze of drink and drugs finds herself joining them on an armed bank robbery.
Combining stunning technical achievement and terrific performances from the actors who used a largely improvised dialogue, this is a sensational thriller that demands to be seen.
(2hr 18min)