Vier Minuten (2006)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Chris Kraus

Writer:

Chris Kraus (writer)

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

The next German film sensation after The Lives of Others

Plot:

An elderly piano teacher trains a young convict at a women's penitentiary.

Plot Keywords:

Piano | Prison | Lesbian Interest | Gay Interest

Awards:

21 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Monica Bleibtreu	...	Traude
Hannah Herzsprung	...	Jenny
Sven Pippig	...	Mütze
Richy Müller	...	Kowalski
Jasmin Tabatabai	...	Ayse
Stefan Kurt	...	Direktor Meyerbeer
Vadim Glowna	...	Gerhard von Loeben
Nadja Uhl	...	Nadine Hoffmann
Peter Davor	...	Journalist Wahrig
Edita Malovcic	...	Traude - jung
Christian Koerner	...	SS-Sturmbannführer
Kathrin Kestler	...	Hannah
Amber Bongard	...	Clara Mütze
Dietrich Hollinderbäumer	...	Pater Vincens
Dieter Moor	...	TV-Moderator

Also Known As:

4 Minutes (International: English title)
Four Minutes (International: English title)
Nur für Mozart (Germany) (working title)

Runtime:

112 min | Canada:112 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Technicolor) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo

Certification:

Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | South Korea:12 | Czech Republic:12 | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R13

Filming Locations:

Luckau, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Arte

Movie Connections:

References The Blues Brothers (1980)

Brilliant Relationship Drama and 4 minutes you will not forget.

Really excellent film - the two leading ladies give stella performance as an elderly piano teacher (with some interesting secrets left over from German war times) and as a young, brilliant, but disturbed, pianist.

The backdrop of a women's prison and its local dramas and characters is a fascinating stage as their relationship develops their pasts come influence their actions and trust is built. (And no, it is not one of those touchy, feely Hollywood set-ups, this has real depth).

The "4 minutes" the title refers to, is a film sequence which I personally found incredible, I still get gooseflesh down my back when I think back to it. The audience in the cinema I saw it spontaneously burst in to applause at the end of the 4 minutes.

All in all a thoroughly worthwhile film, although there is quite a bit of German history, some knowledge of this would be of use and I am not sure how it would translate from the original German. Some excellent comedy intersperses the intensity of the drama – but all credit must go to the main actors. Really good – go see it..