Requiem (2006)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Hans-Christian Schmid

Writer:

Bernd Lange (writer)

Release Date:

2 March 2006 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An epileptic girl suffers a breakdown during her first year at university, then decides to seek help from a priest in battling the troubles associated with her strict upbringing. |

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Breakdown | University | Screaming | Sister Sister Relationship

Awards:

14 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Sandra Hüller	...	Michaela Klingler
Burghart Klaußner	...	Karl Klingler
Imogen Kogge	...	Marianne Klingler
Anna Blomeier	...	Hanna Imhof
Nicholas Reinke	...	Stefan Weiser
Jens Harzer	...	Martin Borchert (Exorzist)
Walter Schmidinger	...	Gerhard Landauer (Exorzist)
Friederike Adolph	...	Helga Klingler
Irene Kugler	...	Heimleiterin Krämer
Johann Adam Oest	...	Professor Schneider
Eva Löbau	...	Krankenschwester
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stefan Müller-Doriat

Runtime:

Germany:93 min | USA:89 min | Argentina:93 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | USA:TV-MA (cable rating)

Filming Locations:

Gomaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company:

23/5 Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

Sandra Hüller's feature film debut.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Soundtrack:

Moving Along

well done

This movie doesn't have a clear message. Instead the title "requiem" really shows what this is about: looking at a person's life in every aspect of it. So the storytelling has to be much more from a distant viewpoint. Some may call this documentary-style as it seems to show a real social case study. Personally it reminded me a little bit of the early Scorseses style of movie-making (e.g. taxi driver): neutral viewpoint, but still subtle messages within, and finally the big clash in the ending, when all strings of the story developed throughout the movie come together.

For me, this is the best way of doing such a movie. First everything feels so normal as you watch the movie. In the end extreme situations begin to develop. Because you know the context, even it is a really extreme situation, it seems to be not at all inexplicable but very real, which it actually was. I could personally feel the helplessness with this situation, because I could not blame anybody in the movie, there was not a side who did anything wrong on purpose. All are just human beings, who are presented perfectly and believable through very good acting. The final shot of the girl's face with background organ music expresses many feelings I have about the movie.

All in all it is a very good movie, but of course it still does not feel as great as some of the best movies of the time. 9 stars