When the latest disc from Netflix arrived the other day, it was a head-scratcher --
Victoria (2015). I had no recollection of what prompted me to add it to my list. I assumed, correctly, it was foreign. It takes place in Berlin on a single night, the entire 2:17 spun on a single tracking shot by director Sebastian Schipper. That must have been what raised my interest. The story follows the eponymous 20-something protagonist, who goes from dancing solo in a nightclub, to meeting four young men on the street, to participating in a crime. Generally, the theme of how quickly things can change in life is intriguing. In this case, I had a hard time accepting that the character would have spent more than a few minutes with the four guys, three of whom are jerks. She has recently moved to Germany from Spain and works in coffee shop, by all evidence a nice person. After years of training as a classical pianist, she was told she wasn't good enough. Granted, something like that could be a huge blow and may lead a person to fill the hole it creates with questionable behavior -- but driving a getaway car in an armed robbery only an hour or so after meeting her accomplices? Then again, stranger things happen in life. The viewer's enjoyment will probably rest on whether he/she accepts this premise. Although I had a hard time with it, there is still a lot to like about the movie, the chief being the performance of Laia Costa, which garnered several awards in Europe. Once the main plot point gets going, there is a palpable intensity to the narrative, but it takes way too long to get there. The first hour or so is devoted to the silliness of youth, drinking, smoking and behaving foolishly in the wee hours of the morning, similar to
The Deer Hunter (1975). I imagine many people would bail during that run. That would be a mistake, as the film is worth seeing despite its flaws. No doubt it would be especially appealing to film students. I have a grudging admiration for it. When things became disastrous, I had no compassion for the four (one passed out, unable to participate). They were done in by gross stupidity. I'm not sure what Schipper, who wrote the screenplay with two others, was trying to say, if anything. Maybe he was more intrigued by the technical challenge of doing a film in one long shot in real time. Most of it is in English, the common language shared by the main characters. The German is in subtitles, minuscule on the DVD. 19,000+ users at IMDb have rated
Victoria, forging to a consensus of 7.7 of ten. The contributors' commentary on it there is interesting. A few believe the film is a masterpiece. On a scale of five, I rate it 2.75. Schipper has written and directed only four films. He has 26 credits as an actor.
My thanks to the kind folks who bought and donated books today on Bay Parkway.
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
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