Day 2 @ MSPIFF 2015: 'Victoria' Reviewed
It's probably impossible to see Sebastian Schipper's Victoria and not be impressed. The entire 130-minute film is captured in one continuous shot by the superbly athletic camerawork of Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, and never does the movie drag its feet, lose its momentum or devolve into a swirling, jittery mess. Instead, Victoria has a gorgeous, liquid quality. At one moment, it's a carefree romp through nocturnal Berlin, and then it changes, right before your eyes, into a heart-pounding thriller, all gunshots and getaways.
The camera's epic journey centers on the face of Spanish actress Laia Costa, who plays the titular character. The movie starts when she leaves a Berlin club and runs into a charismatic young man named Sonne (Frederick Lau), who's celebrating a birthday with his ruffian friends. The Spaniard is reluctant to engage them at first, but she tags along in hopes of experiencing "the real Berlin." What starts with sneaking onto rooftops and stealing beer from a convenience store morphs into something far more serious: a bank robbery.
On paper, the plot sounds insane. But the movie's momentum, augmented by Grøvlen's camerawork, makes the story gripping enough to feel possible. As for performances, both Costa and Lau are terrific. The screenplay was only a few pages long, so they made up most of the dialogue on the fly. What's even more impressive is that they stay in character so well for so long, showing incredible control over a range of emotions, from nervousness to jubilation, panic to despair. So how many times did the actors perform the entire movie in a single go before the camera to get it right? Three times. Don't look like you're not impressed.
Note: Cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen will be present at Friday's screening. So, if you want to learn how this incredible movie was made from the guy who shot it, this is your chance.
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Other Highlights For Friday, April 10
Free Fall (György Pálfi, Hungary) After a woman jumps off her seven-story apartment building, smacks the ground and miraculously survives, she journeys back into the building to find surreal scenes on every floor. Each level has its own bizarre vignette, and every one gives a different, darkly comic glimpse into modern Hungarian life. If that set-up doesn't sound like a great late-night foreign flick, what does? (10:15)
Tangerines (Zaza Urushadze, Estonia) The Estonian entry for the most recent foreign film Oscar, Tangerines is an anti-war film set in embattled eastern Europe following the fall of the Soviet Union. At its center is a story of two soldiers on opposing sides in the conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia. However, after they're both wounded in a fight, the two find themselves recovering inside a tangerine harvester's home. The soldiers promise to kill each other once they're healed, but their time together dissolves some of the bitterness between them. While the story might not be the most original, many critics have found the movie superbly crafted and deeply moving. (5:45)
Beatles (Peter Flinth, Norway) Based on Lars Saabye Christensen's beloved coming-of-age novel of the same name, the film Beatles follows the friendship of four young Norwegian boys as they strap on guitars and start rocking like their favorite band. The story is a classic in Norway, and Beatles fans in Minnesota, with Scandinavian roots or not, may very well find it plucking away at their heartstrings. (4:30)
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For the festival schedule, and a complete listing of all the movies being shown, click here. Ticket information is available here.
Throughout the entirety of the 2015 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, WCCO.com will be spotlighting one notable movie each day, along with other notable screenings. To see WCCO.com's complete coverage on the MSPIFF, click here.
