Revanche (2008) User Reviews

Authenticity and surprise in a gritty thriller

[Chris Knipp · 9/10 · 19 March 2009]

Revanche is a deliciously gritty neo-noir full of surprises, so many important ones that it is better not to go into too much detail about the plot. But as important as its clever narrative to the success of the film is its atmosphere, which has a contemporary and positively ethnographic precision, but builds on the traditional contrast between city and country. And there is another contrast: between two couples, an ex-con and a whore, and a cop and his wife who works in a shop. The first couple is on the edge of Vienna and the other lives in the country, but circumstances bring them together.

The action begins with Alex (Johannes Krisch) and his Ukrainian prostitute girlfriend Tamara (Irina Potapenko) in Vienna. Spielmann rubs our noses in the scummy world of a whorehouse on the outskirts of town, with its Eastern European sex workers and its slimy fat cat boss Konecny (Hanno Poeschl), for whom Alex works. Tamara speaks pidgin German, but she's not dumb, and when the boss offers her an upgrade to call girl in a flat, she knows it's trouble and resolves to run away with Alex. She owes a big debt, and he cooks up the robbery scheme so she can pay it off. He says it's going to work because he has a plan. He says that so many times we become certain it won't. But despite Rothkopf's tidy summary, the outcome isn't so simple. The bank robbery isn't botched, but it goes badly for Alex, and also for a cop named Robert "When people go to the city they become either arrogant or scoundrels. He's a scoundrel." So says Hauser (Johannes Thanheiser), Alex's grandfather, an old man failing in health who lives on a small farm. He exists outside the modern world almost completely, though he does drive a little old VW Bug. People don't think it's safe for him to still be on the road. When Alex goes to stay with Hauser, it seems almost that he's fallen off the map that includes the prostitutes and the scummy underside of Viennese life.

Alongside Alex's story is that of the policeman, Robert, who seems unable to give his wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss) a baby; too bad, because they both want one. They live in a nice modern house they've built, with help from friends, somewhere not too far from Alex's grandfather. In fact Susanne knows him.

"I'll give you one thing: you really are a hell of a worker," Hauser tells Alex. Alex hides out after the robbery by staying with his grandfather and cutting up a mountain of firewood. The work instinct unites the two men in spite of everything, and Hauser's declining health gives Alex another reason for staying around. He also has revenge in his heart for what's happened to Tamara. But things get complicated, people talk,and that changes.

Revanche builds on coincidence but in ways so rooted in gritty milieu and so gnarly and unexpected they really seem to emerge not from a writer's brainstorm but the downright mind boggling absurdity of real life. The word "revanche" can mean in German not only revenge, but also rematch--in short, a second chance. If Alex reaches a point where he can work out his salvation with diligence, it's much more quirky circumstance that gets him there than any pat change of heart. The satisfaction this film provides is delayed. It comes in the way it simmers and ripens after a viewing.

Martin Gschlacht did the excellent cinematography. The acting is strong and convincing, including that of the 83-year-old Thanheiser. With close to a dozen films under his belt, Spielmann, who also wrote the screenplay, is clearly at the top of his game. It will be a real shame if US theatrical audiences don't get to see Revanche on the big screen.

Revanche won the Europa Cinemas Label for best European film at the Berlinale, and has other awards, including two FIPRESCIs. It was a nominee for the Best Foreign Oscar. Shown as part of the Film Comment Selects series at Lincoln Center, New York, February 2009. "Revanche . . .has just been picked up for North American theatrical and home video distribution by art film distributor Janus and the Criterion Collection.

Journey into the depths of grief

[p-stepien · 8/10 · 6 July 2012]

A love in the underworld between Russian prostitute Tamara (Irina Potapenko) and bordello body-guard Alex (Johannes Krisch) leads them to embrace the perspective of escape from the harsh realities of debts owed to crime bosses. The solution to their worries is a bank heist, during which Tamara dies after being fatally wounded by a stray bullet from police officer Robert (Andreas Lust). Engrieved Alex hides out at his grandfather's (Johannes Thanheiser) farm, where he spends his days chopping wood for the winter. However grief turns to concepts of vengeance, when it turns out that Robert and his wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss) are neighbours.

Starting off from a seedy, hopeless love affair, after a few scenes certainty of an emotional train-ride becomes evident. As the story unfolds and takes various turns, moral dilemmas take the forefront, as death, sorrow, remorse and regret construe a fascinating psychological story, where revenge isn't limited to a simple pulling of the trigger lacking forethought. As Alex, Robert and Susanne interact questions raised reach satisfying, if uneasy, conclusions, as a full circle is reached, making this one of the most poignant movies on the question of revenge, much detached from the typical Hollywood or Hong Kong take on the matter.

The story has a unmistakable natural flow (partly owed to the settings and the camera-work), as happenings build the story without effort or forced connections. As if to underline this music score is done away with, only the noise of the streets and background of nature fill the space between infrequent dialogues. All this allows Götz Spielmann to deliver a focused, straight story without visual distractions or voyages into the supposed 'darkness' of the human heart.

The White will Perk you up

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 5 July 2009]

Greetings again from the darkness. Is it revenge or a second chance? The double meaning of the title fits perfectly with this terrific, believable story. Nominated for Best Foreign Film last year, it is just now making its way to Dallas - one of the few downsides to not living in NYC.

What I love is the subtle approach of the filmmaker, director Gotz Spielmann, who obviously is a keen observer of people - moreso, I would guess, than a film buff. As a viewer, we thoroughly believe this story would play out this way because these people are reacting to real situations.

Johannes Krisch is captivating and powerful as Alex, one of the brutes working at a brothel. This is where he meets and falls for Tamara, played touchingly by Irina Potapenko. Alex hatches a plan that will allow the two to escape and start over. The plan goes well right up until the end. That's when things get really interesting.

Alex is thrown unexpectedly into the real life of police officer Robert (Andreas Lust) and his wife Susanne (fascinating acting from Ursula Strauss). Alex drops out of society on his grandfather's (Johannes Thanheiser) farm. The coincidences lead to a touch of comedy and also some real soul searching from Robert, Susanne and Alex.

The film could have ended about three different ways and I couldn't have been more happy with what we get. This is a rare film that should be seen by many more than will have the opportunity. That's a shame.

The Bauer at the brothel, the peasant and the prostitute

[domnulx · 8/10 · 3 December 2008]

Revanche. Written and directed by Götz Spielmann. The look of the film is thoroughly authentic, and the Austrian milieu very convincing. Johannes Krisch is fabulous as Alex, the peasant brute with a broken heart and an uncontrollable sex drive. Andreas Lust is very good as well, as Robert, Alex's police officer nemesis. Caught in the middle is Ursula Strauss, who plays Susanne, Robert's wife.

The story starts out in the squalid world of Viennese prostitution, at a tacky brothel on the periphery. Alex works for the local prostitution boss and he has fallen in love with one of the Eastern European streetwalkers, Tamara, played by Irina Potapenko. When Tamara is recruited for a promotion to call-girl, she decides instead to run away with Alex. Here the story moves to the countryside where Alex's father lives in a miserable cabin on the outskirts of modern Austrian society. But if the surrounding become simpler, the interaction does not, as Alex becomes entangled in the lives of the small town police office and his wife.

The film is satisfying on many levels. It is a veritable ethnographic study of the interface between post-modern Central European human trafficking and pre-industrial Austrian bauern culture. Alex and his father speak to each other in what has been described to me as a rich and authentic peasant dialect rarely represented in film. Not only does it look and sound authentic, but the story makes perfect sense, too. And that's saying a lot for a European "written and directed by" film, where narrative logic doesn't often get more than cursory consideration. The name "revanche" has a double meaning in German, both revenge and a return match or a second chance, and it seems that both of these ideas are being developed throughout the story, as characters juggle their need to get even with their desire to secure their own futures. The tragic consequences of their every action lead them further and further down a path not of their own choosing. We get a taste of this feeling of predestination when the camera stops still at a forested point in the road, a spot that will take on fatal significance later in the story. Yet, if fate controls the characters' destinies, it is the strength of willpower that will decide who survives and who will fade into insignificance.

Revanche did not get nominated in any categories for the EFA awards in 2008, but it is Austria's entry for the Oscar Foreign Language film nomination in 2009.

I can't stop looking at the damn photo.

[lastliberal · 9/10 · 2 March 2010]

There are a lot of "second chances" in this Oscar nominated film.

Alex (Johannes Krisch) wants to give Tamara (Irina Potapenko) a second chance to escape her life of prostitution. He wants a second chance after being released from jail and robs a bank to get it. He also wants a second chance with his father (Johannes Thanheiser).

Unfortunately, life is what happens when you are making other plans, and the encounter with the policeman Robert (Andreas Lust) ruins Alex's plans.

Revanche also means "revenge." You can see the slow burning of Alex as he broods over the loss of Tamara. Circumstance has it that his father lives right next door to the policemen. Even when the policeman's wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss) tries to get intimate with him, he has sex, but treats her like dirt.

What Alex doesn't realize until he and Robert meet is that Robert is grieving as much as he is. He shot Tamara by accident and is aching over her death.

There was some outstanding acting by all the characters in this film. It really was worthy of the Academy Award. Too bad it had to go up against Okuribito.

Absorbing Drama

[kenjha · 8/10 · 14 April 2010]

This Austrian drama starts as a love story between a scruffy ex-con and a Ukranian prostitute, but evolves into an interesting character study. It takes a while for the film to settle down and the central storyline to emerge, but it is quite absorbing. The acting is excellent, particularly Strauss and Thanheiser. Spielmann's direction is assured and marked by visual elegance. He doesn't use any flashy camera-work, but manages to infuse every frame with a sense of foreboding. The pacing is deliberate (about 10 minutes of screen time is devoted to watching Krisch cut wood), but it never drags. The Austrian countryside is beautifully shot in this low-key and rewarding film.

A quietly fascinating journey of the hearts, from seedy to sublime, revenge to redemption, grief to giving unbeknown to all players

[ruby_fff · 9/10 · 7 October 2009]

Is it an accident? Or is it fate, coincidences predestined? You don't really think about these reservations as you are watching Austrian director-producer-screenwriter Götz Spielmann's quietly fascinating film, "Revanche." The one-word title in French translates to 'revenge.' But this is hardly your usual action thriller, though there are anxious suspenseful moments and bank heist involved.

Love the film. The storyline and the characters, the occurrence of incidents all seem to follow natural development - their own course (by design 'divine'). So few dialog and no music score at all, just birds chirping, sound of raindrops, everything naturally delivered. Well, the only human music being the accordion played by grandfather Hausner. One man's revengeful thoughts or action just might turn out to be blossoming into another's hopeful, joyous beginning of future. Two men hung up on one woman dead, both men acquiesced by one woman alive, whose optimistic intuition and trustful understanding may bring full circle to the string of events, perhaps liken to how nature takes care of itself? The engaging 'fate' element is somehow unbeknown to all parties involved (while the audience might marvel at the clues, possibly unaware also).

As I was quietly watching the film following the story progression, I said to myself at one point: I hope this is where the film ends and go on no more. The next second the screen did fade to black and the end credits start rolling, without any music other than birds chirping can be heard, and later on, sound of raindrops falling for the rest of the credit roll.

What a script! So perfectly directed, and such steady subtle performances from the ensemble cast of characters. The four main roles are so solidly portrayed: Alex by Johannes Krisch and his girlfriend Tamara by Irina Potapenko; Robert the policeman by Andreas Lust and his wife Susanne by Ursula Strauss. A satisfying movie experience, it is. I actually appreciate this film more than the winning 2008 Oscar foreign film "Departures" - well, it's different in story layers and 'Departures' encompasses many aspects, while "Revanche" also has its layers of emotions, psychological human nature perspectives, is delivered 'clean' and focused, ever so naturally acceptable of human foibles, vulnerability and one woman's life force. A very humanistic film - a MUST SEE.

Good choices, bad choices

[LazySod · 8/10 · 6 May 2009]

A guy and his woman. They both work in a brothel and are both working on their plan to escape that place for good. So far none of their plans have worked out and a new plan is devised. When the plan starts rolling the woman is anxious and afraid it will fail, but the man presses on. It all starts out really well, but it quickly turns sour. The rest of the film then is the more or less logical follow up of these events - with the one red line thought through it all being - getting even.

Films like this work out rather well when the characters are believable - and they are in this one. All the things that happen happen in a more or less fitting way and as events turn darker and darker one cannot escape from both a grin and a grimace. It's fun and nasty at the same time and plays out as a somewhat predictable book, but in a good way. The main character plays out his role very well and most of the other characters play out very well too - there's only a few of them that fall out of style too much to be really fitting.

8 out of 10 choices backfiring

revenge comes in unexpected ways

[dromasca · 8/10 · 13 September 2013]

By the end of the opening scene of Revanche something falls (maybe it was thrown) in the quite water of a lake. Then we can see the idyllic landscape of a lawn with warm colors like from a Renoir painting being molded. We can guess that all this quietness is apparent, and that it will be troubled soon by violent events. This is what eventually happens, but it happens at its own pace and is told in a clear and distinct voice in this film by Austrian director Gotz Spielmann. An unexpected suspense drama coming from a school of cinema that proves that Michael Haneke is not the only remarkable Austrian director. There is actually something from the Haneke style in this film, with a story where chance may lead to tragedy and with the world of dark secrets hidden under the appearances of quite and banal lives.

Two distinct worlds are presented in Revanche. One is the world of the brothels in Vienna where most of the working girls come from Eastern Europe, a world of sin and violence. The best characters who can populate this world are a couple of lovers (he's some kind of bodyguard and driver, she is a hooker) who try the coup which would arrange their lives - more like in an American movie with roles like Nicolas Cage used once to play. This world is the back door of the other world, the 'normal' Austrian society, with pastoral country-side, devoted policemen who jog and have wives who go to church. When the two worlds meet the collision can be tragic, even if tragedy is caused only by human mistake. The ensuing drama one of these eternal stories of love, death and revenge, but a revenge which is obtained in a very unexpected manner. Eventually the balance is re-established but at a huge price.

There are a lot of surprising turns in this film and I will avoid telling anything about the story in order to leave the pleasure of following it to those who are interested. I will just recommend it for the quality of acting, of cinematography and story telling. It also fits several categories of viewers - people who like dramas and thrillers as well. The film got a nomination for the Academy Awards for the Foreign Language Film, but did not win. Its place among the nominees seems to have been however well deserved.

One of the finest movies of the year, or the past 5 Imho

[cpurves · 9/10 · 12 July 2009]

No need to recap the plot as so many of you have already done so. What was interesting to me, along with the excellence of the photography, great naturalistic acting, lack of portentous music (what a relief), was the psychological portrayal of guilt. Who felt guilt for their actions, who did not. Obviously the piggy brothel owner felt none. The policeman was painfully racked by guilt...his panic attack was brilliant, the best I have seen portrayed in a movie. Then, the scene by the pond when the guilt was transferred to Alex was intensely moving, I thought. Even though Alex had tried to dissuade Tamara from joining him on the bank job, he was clearly shaken by Alex's unknowing accusation.

Susanne's character was also nuanced — someone who was a rescuer (in a good way), her attempts to protect her husband while also getting what she wanted, were compelling.

This, for me, has been one of the better movies of the year. Highly recommended.

Quiet and Powerful Brilliance

[johnpetersca · 9/10 · 6 June 2009]

For the first half hour of Revanche, I expected something quite different than how it turned out. Initially, the movie reminded me of a Fassbinder film with corrupt and unsavory characters scheming against each other. The scheming ends with a decision by Alex (Johannes Krisch), a middle-aged janitor and go-for at a Vienna brothel, to rob a bank in order to pay off the debts of his girlfriend Tamara (Irina Potapenko), a Ukrainian prostitute. The robbery goes bad in an unexpected way, with a policeman shooting at the escape vehicle and accidentally killing Tamara. Alex drives the car to the countryside and abandons it near his grandfather's old and dilapidated farm.

Alex moves in with his grandfather (Johannes Thanheiser) and spends his days cutting and chopping wood for fuel. Repeatedly, we see his powerful arms pushing logs against a large, circular power saw. His becomes obsessed with work in an effort to overcome the overwhelming anguish and guilt he feels as a result of his girlfriend's death. Alex tries to become an entirely physical person and is sullen and inarticulate in his dealings with others. Other people, however, refuse to go away. A married woman, who lives nearby, Susanne (Ursula Strauss), visits the grandfather, encourages him to play his accordion, and accompanies him to church.

Now things begin to fall into place, from the perspective of the viewer though not initially from that of the characters. To some extent, director Götz Spielman's approach is similar to that of Atom Egoyan's. Susanne's husband, Robert (Andreas Lust), is the policeman who accidentally shot and killed Tamara. He and Susanne want to have children but she is unable to get pregnant due to his limitations. He is as distraught as Alex over Tamara's death and does not understand how he could have shot through the car's rear window when he aimed at the tires.

Without wanting to be, Alex is brought into contact with both Susanne and Robert and gradually reveals his situation to them. Susanne invites him over for sex when her husband is at work, perhaps hoping that his physical vitality will enable her to conceive. There are explicit, though not pornographic, sex scenes, both between Alex and Susanne on a kitchen table and, earlier in the film and more sweetly, between Alex and Tamara in a shower. Alex also encounters Robert as he goes for his daily run and realizes that the policeman is as upset as he is about Tamara's death. Susanne gets pregnant from Alex and swears him to secrecy. Life goes on. "Revanche" assumes it meaning, in German, of second chance as well as revenge.

This summary does not do justice to the consistent excellence of the film's acting and direction. All of the roles are played in ways that are both believable and continuously revealing. Although there are superficial similarities between Revanche and noir films of the forties and fifties, their points of view are very different. In Revanche, we see and feel the devastating impact a killing has on essentially decent people.

Gorgeous film, but beware misconceptions

[fung0 · 10/10 · 5 February 2016]

Some reviewers seem to think Revanche is a failure as a 'thriller.' Of course, this merely identifies their failure as viewers. Revanche is not remotely a thriller, or a crime drama, or a tale of revenge, or suspense. It's more a story of lost love, of sorrow and regret. And - as the title cleverly implies - of *possible* redemption.

As I watched Revanche, I inevitably formed certain ideas about where it was headed. Each of those ideas was in turn dispelled. Only late in the experience did I see where the director was taking me, a conclusion of perfect, poetic inevitability. You literally have to see the whole film to properly know what it's about.

Yes, Revanche is EXTREMELY low-key and slow-paced. It helps if you realize that its real content is not in the action at all - it's in the silences between actions. It's in the mood, in the elegant photography. Focus your attention there and you'll soon realize that this is essentially a simple story, told simply and economically. (To say more would be to give away too much.)

Obviously, you do need to have some patience to enjoy a story that unravels so slowly and subtly. But if you do, you'll be rewarded beyond your expectations.

Evening things up requires giving up a piece of you

[raskimono · 9/10 · 3 November 2008]

As seen at the AFI Film Festival, Revanche is a tight thriller that is at a the same time a mood piece and a human moral drama. Austrian's official submission for the foreign language category in the 2009 Academy Awards is likely to this reviewer to get the nomination. Following the lives of two couples, a prostitute and a thug, a cop and his wife; tragic circumstances converge their lives when a bank robbery goes awry. Featuring a stand out performance by Tommy Lee Jones look-alike Johannes Krisch as the thug Alex, the man creates tension when out of frame, in the nick of shadows and in front of the camera. His character of Alex is a tortured soul that the audience is never sure off; his intentions or actions are hidden behind a mask of serenity. Not satisfied with being a replica of Jones, he also gives a very Tommy Lee Jones no-frills turn that keeps the movie afloat. Director Gotz Spielman creates tension using sound and extremely detailed camera set-ups. Not show-offy in anyway but including two long one take shots, he also uses his DP to infuse the screen with pale and desaturated color tones for nights scenes and natural lighting for daylight scenes, all used to provide a flat élan on the screen. It effectively supports the vibe of these revenge melodrama. What could be hammy in another director's hands becomes poetry in his. The sound of the ax smashing a block of wood never seemed more intimate. When a director uses it in such a way that the viewer feels inside the innards of a man's soul, you know the director knows his stuff. Intricate and detailed, it is consummate from top to bottom. If there is any qualms with the movie, it is in the character of Robert the cop played by Andreas Lust. His character arc is supposed to mirror Alex but he never earns the audience's sympathy the way Alex does; yet his story is geared toward such a response. The character is slightly underwritten and the actor never engages the character the way Johannes does. Playing against our expectations to create an ending reminiscent of Greek tragedy, it is a worthy movie experience and the best movie I've seen in 2008 along with Mike Leigh's Happy go lucky.

Really good character studies

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 16 December 2015]

"Revanche" is a German-language movie from 7 years ago and, together with "Antares", the most known work by Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. This one was Oscar-nominated in the Foreign Language Film category, but lost out to the Japanese entry. "Revanche" runs for over 2 hours and this is maybe also the movie's biggest problem. While it is extraordinarily tense and gripping, the film also has a couple sequences where it does drag in my opinion. I am basically referring to parts before the botched bank robbery here. 50 minutes or so was simply too long for the character presentation part in my opinion. As much as I liked looking at the stunning Irina Potapenko, they certainly could have kept these sequences at 30 minutes max and, consequently, the film at 100 minutes.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the acting here: Krisch, Lust, Strauss, the aforementioned Potapenko and Thanheiser delivered from start to finish, even if Thanheiser's character did not really add that much to me for the movie. It sucks a bit to see that Krisch did not really manage a career in known films other than this one (and maybe the pretty bad "Vergiss mein Ich" from last year) as he carries this film here nicely from start to finish and creates a truly interesting character. In terms of Lust, you may want to check out the very good "The Robber".

"Revanche" is a lot about masculinity for Krisch's and Lust's character, but also as a consequence for Potapenko's and Strauss'. There is one scene early on when we hear that the main character is not tough enough and this definitely influenced his decision to rob the bank and has him play with a gun in the presence of his girlfriend right after to prove to himself how tough he is. On the other hand, Lust struggles with being too serious while still having a massive ego and the fact that he just does not seem manly enough to get his girlfriend pregnant. We hear on one occasion that it's his fault probably. This impotence may also have to do with the woman's cheating. Krisch's character initially plans a much more brutal revenge, but he won't go through with it, maybe another example that he simply is not a tough guy. Instead, he (almost unintentionally) chooses a less violent path by hurting the police officer emotionally. And the final talk between the two men on the park bench basically destroys his plan completely when he sees how Lust's character suffers from the shooting. He doesn't mind if the boyfriend comes for him, he aimed for the tires etc. He may not have lost a loved one, but he suffers almost the same as Krisch's character, emotionally and professionally.

"Revanche" is not among my top5 favorite non English films from 2008, but I still recommend the watch. The robbery scene is absolutely edge-of-the-seat stuff and one of the best movie moments of 2008 when the two men run into each other. Unfortunately, there are not many more truly outstanding scenes and even if Spielmann elaborates convincingly on the characters' reactions and emotional states, it sometimes feels that the film is just dragging on. This is by no means a bad film, but it's also not as good as it could have been.

More psychological drama than crime story

[bandw · 8/10 · 19 June 2010]

If you were to read in the paper that a man had robbed a local bank and, as he drove away in the getaway car, a woman in the passenger seat had been shot and killed by an off-the-mark shot from a policeman, you would probably think, "Well that's unfortunate, if someone had to get killed, it should have been the robber." That snap judgment is probably as far as you would take it, or about as far as you could take it, with limited facts. But, as this movie illustrates, the details of such an incident and its aftermath can be surprising and interesting.

The movie starts with Alex and Tamara working in a seedy Vienna brothel. Tamara is an attractive Ukranian and it is easy to see why Alex has fallen for her. The realistic behind the scenes look at the brothel, run by a tyrannical pimp, was enough for me to understand why Alex and Tamara were desperate to escape and, when Alex proposed the bank robbery, I could well understand his motivation, since it was not going to be easy for either Alex or Tamara to get out of the rather sorry state they were in.

What sets this thriller apart is that we get to know all of the main players--Alex, Tamara, the policeman and his wife, and Alex's grandfather-- as believable people. Their interactions are well motivated and understandable.

As the title suggests, the movie has important things to say about revenge, about snap judgments and false assumptions.

I found some of the filming techniques interesting. Early on the camera lingered on certain scenes, like a path into some trees or an alleyway, that left me puzzled. The answers to these little teasers appeared later in the film.

I did not know any of the actors, but I found them all to be well cast and quite good.

Very good stylistically

[johno-21 · 7/10 · 9 January 2009]

I recently saw this at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Writer/Director Martin Gschlacht offers up a tale of crime and revenge from Austria in a good looking cinematic presentation although the story set up is a little long and characters you expect to return are discarded. Despite it's too long beginning the film never really lags and keeps your interest with it's slick story from Gschlacht and wonderful cinematography from Gotz Spielmann and a great production design by Maria Gruber. Alex (Johannes Krisch) has fallen in love with Ukrainian immigrant Tamara (Irina Potapenko) who works in a brothel where Alex does odd jobs for the underworld brothel owner. In a plan to get out of debt and the control of the brothel Alex hatches a plot to rob a bank in his grandfather's rural village. Alex is forced to assimilate into the village when his plan is botched. With Ursala Strauss as the shopkeeper Susanne and Andreas Lust as her policeman husband Robert this is a good film but would carry a strong R rating for nudity and sexual situations. Fortunately, violence is kept at a minimum. I believe this is Austria's official submission to the Oscars for Best Foreign Language film. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10 and recommend it.

Very good.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 22 August 2013]

Although "Revanche" was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, it is NOT for everyone. That's because there is lots of nudity (including frontal), violence, drug use and a variety of other nastiness. So, it's NOT a film you show your young kids, mother-in-law or Father Jenkins! Plus, many folks just don't want to see a film this explicit. Had I known it was like this, I might not have rented the film. Plus, so much of the explicitness in the film seemed unnecessary for advancing the plot.

The film is about a couple of lovers who are difficult to like--you might feel a bit sorry for them, but they are not folks you'll like. Alex is an ex-con and Tamara is a prostitute who is heavily in debt. When Tamara's pimp starts getting violent, the two escape--but they need money to leave the country. So, Alex robs a bank and in the process Tamara is shot and killed. Alex loved Tamara very much and he toys with the notion of finding the cop who shot her and getting revenge. This plan gets easier when it turns out the cop's wife knows Alex's father--an odd coincidence, I know. But there turns out to be a lot more to it than this--and the course of the film took me a bit by surprise. I won't say more--it would spoil the movie.

The plot for "Revanche" and the acting were excellent. As I said above, however, it was hard to like the characters and so much nudity makes it a very good film that many won't ever get to see. Now I am not saying all of it should have been eliminated and some of the sexual content was definitely necessary for the plot.

Writer/director's moral relativism dilutes engaging look at Austrian underworld

[Turfseer · 6/10 · 27 March 2010]

The most striking thing about 'Revanche' is that the first half is so completely different than the second half. The story is set in modern-day Austria where the protagonist, Alex, is working maintenance in a brothel and is in a relationship with Tamara, one of the prostitutes there who hails from Ukraine. The opening scene between the 'couple' features a somewhat explicit sexual encounter (there are other such steamy sexual encounters later on in the film). Be forewarned—there are no subtitles in the first two minutes of the film as Tamara is presumably speaking in her native Ukrainian and we're not supposed to understand what she's saying.

Up to the midpoint of the film, we're treated to a gritty, behind-the-scenes look at the Austrian underworld. Tamara owes her boss, Konecny, $30,000 (presumably for arranging her passage to Austria). Tamara is Konecny's 'favorite' at the brothel and wants her to move into one of his own apartments where she can service more upper-class VIP customers. Meanwhile Alex dreams of buying into a pal's business but is significantly short of the $80,000 needed as a start-up cost. When one of the customers roughs up Tamara, Alex intercedes and beats the man up. Realizing his days are numbered at the brothel, he spirits Tamara out of he house of ill repute to a seedy hotel where he decides his only solution to the financial mess they're both in, is to rob a bank.

The midpoint of the film is perhaps the strongest. Alex successfully sticks up the bank, but a police officer (Robert) just happens to come along and questions Tamara who's sitting in the getaway car. When Alex returns to the car and sees Robert, he pulls out his unloaded firearm and has the officer lie down on the ground. As Alex drives away with Tamara in the passenger seat, Robert violates police procedures and fires at the wheels of the car; unfortunately his aim isn't very good, and Tamara is hit by one of the bullets and is killed. Robert leaves Tamara's body inside the car and abandons it in a forest.

The second half of the movie is much more slow-paced than the first. After Alex takes refuge at grandfather Hausner's farm, he settles in performing various chores for the sickly old codger. He steams inside over Tamara's death and blames it on Robert. There are way too many repetitious scenes of Alex chopping wood, symbolizing his pent-up rage. Coincidentally, Robert's wife, Susanne, a cashier at the local supermarket, has befriended Alex's grandfather and often comes over to keep him company. Alex is extremely cold to Susanne (since she happens to be married to the man who killed his girlfriend). Susanne has had a recent miscarriage and has been having trouble getting pregnant; perhaps, this is one factor why she decides to have an affair with Alex. Another may be that she is attracted to 'bad boys'.

The climax of the film isn't very exciting but it's a relief. Alex learns that Robert takes a jog in the woods every morning and plans to shoot him. One day he aims his gun at Robert but presumably decides to talk to him first. When they do have their conversation, he realizes that Robert is extremely remorseful concerning what happened (it should be noted also that Robert was suspended by the police force as 'unfit for duty' and ordered to see a psychologist). Robert's parting words in which he asks why the bank robber decided to involve his girlfriend in the heist, makes Alex realize that it was he who really was responsible for his girlfriend's death. He redeems himself by throwing his gun into the lake and promises Susanne that he'll never tell anyone of their affair. In turn, he confesses to Susanne that he was the bank robber and presumably their secret is safe with him.

While I was disappointed that Revanche did not have a slam-bang twist ending, I was relieved at the same time that Alex did not resort to the ugly act of killing Robert. Certainly a story about an immoral person taking responsibility for his actions and thus redeeming himself in the end is admirable. However, director/writer Gotz Spiellman engages in a strategy of moral relativism to tell his story. In effect, Spiellman is saying that 'we're all human and we all make mistakes'. In Spiellman's world, people make bad decisions: Alex concocts the robbery, Tamara goes along with it, Robert fires at a vehicle moving away from him, in violation of procedures and Susanne commits adultery by having an affair. But Alex's actions are placed on the same level as Susanne despite the fact that he's committed a crime. Even though he robbed the bank without his gun being loaded, he still terrorized the bank teller and the customers inside the bank. He should be held accountable but the mere act of showing remorse is enough for Spiellman to forgive him. I am, however, not as forgiving of the character as its creator. Spiellman 'forgives' Susanne too for her 'transgression' and rewards her by having her get pregnant. But again, Susanne's indiscretion is just that—an indiscretion! Alex's 'misstep' is a crime! A better ending would have been to have Alex turn himself in.

There are some excellent performances here, particularly Ursula Strauss as Susanne, whose misguided attraction should be a cautionary tale to all those women attracted to 'bad boys'. If you're willing to put up with the slow-paced second half, Revanche is well worth watching. On the other hand, don't expect a masterpiece. Revanche gets a little too cozy with the idea that redemption is for just about everybody. Redemption is only acceptable when it's coupled with both remorse and accountability. By giving Alex a 'free pass' at the denouement, the film's scenarist misses an opportunity to make a true and impassioned moral stand.

One of the rare films that makes the world a better place

[rooprect · 9/10 · 15 July 2021]

Some films make you feel good, some shed light on social issues, some are technical masterpieces. But regardless of all that, how many films directly make the world a better place? This is one of them. "Revanche" ("Revenge" or "Rematch") is broadly a crime thriller but it doesn't pander to our junk-food cravings for violence and cheap thrills. Instead it uses the guise of a crime thriller to tell a deeply human story which will, if you catch the message, make you a better person. And I don't mean that in a "remember to floss after every meal" kind of way. I mean it in a "you just learned something about your soul's redemption" kind of way.

I won't say diddly squat about the plot except to say it revolves around 4 characters: an amateur criminal in Vienna, his prostitute girlfriend, a young good-natured woman who lives in the country, and her husband who is a policeman. A brutal event impacts the lives of these 4 people, leading one of them on a mission of, you guessed it, "revanche".

Nothing is predictable, even though the story is perfectly composed in a way that will make you think it couldn't have happened any other way. The camera style is picturesque and slow, with many stationary, lingering shots as opposed to quick disorienting edits common in most crime thrillers. There is no music aside from an old man occasionally squeezing out a tune on an accordion. But it's incredibly suspenseful up to the very end.

A famous film figure (whom I forgot) once commented that all revenge flicks are nothing more than a 90 minute justification for 1 extreme act of violence. That's certainly true about every Steven Seagal flick I've ever seen, where it's expected that the audience will cheer rapturously at the end when a guy gets his eyeballs thumbed out before he's thrown down an elevator shaft only to land on a giant iron spike. "Revanche" is the antidote to those kinds of flicks. So if you ever feel like thumbing someone's eyeballs out, take a deep breath and watch this film instead.

A fantastic portrayal of different worlds that should be seen by all

[jaspem · 9/10 · 9 June 2008]

I saw Revanche last night at the Sydney film festival and aside from the out of focus image and at one point the movie reel stopping mid-film it was an amazing experience.

Eastern Europe is captured so beautifully. A seemingly quiet and simple countryside (reminiscent of 'blue velvets' suburbia) is contrasted amazingly to the usual city stereotype of brothels, human trafficking and crime.

The director (Gotz Spielman) lingers on certain images that at first, seem to be just for aesthetic purposes but as the film continues; the alleyways, the park benches etc are all extremely significant to the main character (Johannes Kirsch) journey.

The centerpiece in this film though, is definitely the characters. The main character Alex (Johannes Kirsch) is commanding in the lead. Although he is incredibly unlikeable, you cant look away and eventually begin to sympathize with him. By the end of the film you see an amazing evolution.

The wife, the prostitute and the grandfather all are amazing as well. The wife (andreas lust) has some brilliant dialogue in particular and she is just so interesting. I found her to be very real with flaws and temptations that we can all relate to (even if we wont admit it).

There was some action. There was some comedy. The ending was SENSATIONAL. I didn't know which direction it was being taken and became a little impatient but as the screen went black (intentionally, not reel fault) I was incredibly satisfied.

See this movie. It was great.

Grief, guilt, a gun and peasants

[dave-sturm · 10/10 · 25 February 2010]

This is a perfect movie. The ending seemed a bit abrupt, but then I thought, no, this is exactly where it should end, because it puts a whole new movie in your head.

Other writers here call it neo-noir. I think that's a mistake. This is a folk tale about peasants who happen, in the beginning, to be modern-day gangsters, pimps and whores in Austria. The beginning of the movie gives absolutely no clue where it is headed. Looks like a crime thriller. Brothel worker dude and his Ukranian prostitute girlfriend plot a bank robbery.

The bank robbery is in a rural village and it goes bad in an unexpected way. Robber ends up in village, living with his peasant grandfather. He is grief-stricken and desperately wants revenge. Revenge, as it turns out, is no further than a stroll through the woods.

The whole plot depends on what seems to be a huge geographic coincidence. So what? It has mythic elements and myths never bothered with the importance of coincidence.

Direction -- Gotz Spielmann, who I understand is a stage director, is exceedingly austere. He doesn't like to move the camera. Most scenes are fixed medium shots where characters move around inside a static frame. Every frame counts. American viewers who want fast-moving thriller-style camera work will be completely frustrated. Again, this is a slow-moving, character-driven folk tale about the outcome of a botched bank robbery, if you can imagine such a thing.

Acting -- Johannes Krisch as Alex is spellbinding. The whole movie depends on his face. What we see on his face drives the whole plot. Kudos also to the rest of the cast.

As an American, I can recognize that this movie taps into Austrian culture in a way I cannot totally grasp. Peasant culture (and probably dialect) is doubtless important in ways I cannot fully understand. Are apples a symbol of fertility? Seems to be.

I love crime thrillers, and can see that the Europeans are taking it in new directions. This is one of the best I've ever seen.

A Meditation on Self-Understanding Coupled With Cat & Mouse Thriller

[museumofdave · 10/10 · 23 February 2013]

A quietly compelling, suspenseful film about the ability of the human being to redeem themselves through understanding, Revanche would probably be frustrating to those accustomed to the Multiplex thriller full of quick cuts, revved-up music and one explosion after another. Like the author Dickens, director Spielman contrasts the gritty, downbeat lowlife in the big city with the honest toil and rich rewards of the country, and although the film starts to be about a simple bank heist, it becomes something else entirely; chopping wood becomes punctuation to the internal road the main character takes to self-understanding--while realizing that this is quite a heap of philosophy to lay on what becomes a cat-and-mouse thriller, there are plenty of surprises in store for the patient viewer who wants a film of some maturity and depth

Very Well-Executed Complicated Intertwining of 4 LIves

[3xHCCH · 7/10 · 19 October 2009]

First of all, bravo to Qantas Airline for carrying this film gem among their on-board entertainment selections! I never would have thought I would see this 2009 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film on a plane.

"Revanche" is an Austrian movie, though it could have been made anywhere else. I did not really see any scenery that made it look like Austria at all. It is basically about four people: from the city, an Ukranian prostitute Tamara (Irina Potapenko) and her thug boyfriend Alex (Johannes Krische), and in the countryside, an honest cop Robert (Andreas Lust) and his friendly wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss). Unusual circumstances intertwine and complicate the lives of these two couples in crime, death, guilt, and as the title says, revenge.

The best aspect of this film is its very well-developed script, at least for the last two-thirds of the film. The first one-third building up the relationship of Tamara and Alex was too long and slow (and even unnecessary). But when the time comes that Alex hatches his scheme to get the money they need to make their getaway, the film gains its necessary accelerating momentum to the very end.

For all its merits as a drama, this may not be a film for everyone. There are some graphic scenes and dialog as expected with a film that dealt with prostitutes. There are many slow repetitive scenes of Alex and his ailing dad, with so many scenes of Alex chopping wood or the dad playing the accordion which can test your patience to watch. As is typical with a lot of European films, the actual resolution of the entire problematic situation is left to the audience, but I felt that it was still the best way to end.

perfect in any sense of it

[greekhero · 10/10 · 18 March 2009]

i saw that movie and should say that i am going to watch it again many times as it is just thrilling and stunning as it could possibly be despite of being primarily about just ordinary people lives.

and yet it is truly a masterpiece and it is a shame that it did not get an Oscar, probably other nominators were quite competitive.

there is no need to tell about the plot and the background of it. it is pretty ordinary (and that probably makes it quite realistic) so it could have happened everywhere and not just in Austria and so it applies to the main characters.

the key word for that movie is imperfect (yet i still believe that movie itself is excellent) that nothing is perfect or ideal and people always make mistakes and if something may go wrong it will definitely go wrong.

because we are human beings after all - with our emotions, irrational thinking, affections, etc. we can't be just logical and cold and pragmatic thinkers all the time - no one can actually, yet there are some exceptions who just prove the general rule.

i encourage everyone to watch and enjoy every moment and scene of it without concentrating on other trivial moments such as East-European prostitutes and human trafficking, etc. of course i do not doubt that those things are significant but this is not the case, that is just a background.

Art Imitating Life With Frankness And Honesty

[Muldwych · 7/10 · 3 June 2010]

When his girlfriend is murdered during a bank robbery escape attempt, former convict Alex vows to take revenge on the man who pulled the trigger. Vengeance seems to make perfect sense until he meets his target face-to-face.

'Revanche' is a film that holds its cards close to its chest. Just when you think you have the story pinned in the first half-hour, all hell breaks loose and the film takes a wholly unexpected turn. It is a film that not only challenges you to predict what comes next, but one that forces you to decide whether revenge ever makes sense, to confront feelings of anguish and make decisions you can live with. In the character of Alex, we have a man used to dealing with the rougher side of humanity, which has hardened him in order to survive. The loss of his girlfriend Tamara robs him of the only time he allows himself to be someone else, at peace with the world. Into this world comes the unassuming presence of Robert, a policeman committed to serving the public, yet whom has never faced the hardest part of the job: taking a life. When Robert is confronted by this reality, it is then that we truly learn who he is. This, ultimately, is what the film is about - throwing ordinary people into life's darkest waters and seeing whether or not they will swim back into the light. Writer and director Götz Spielmann presents the viewer with a very compelling drama, which, through its cast of identifiably real characters, engages the viewer throughout. The lines may be drawn between those who feel wronged, but at no time is it ever easy for the viewer to take sides.

This perhaps explains the film's pacing and choice of photography. The basic storyline as described could very easily apply to a fast-paced Hollywood blockbuster, trading humanity and intelligence for cliché and car chases. Yet in the truer world of grocery shopping and household chores, moments of high drama are spaced apart by long periods of calm inactivity, leaving people to brood into the small hours over the choices they have made - the perfect environment within which feelings of revenge and misery can blossom. 'Revanche' is paced in such a way, with the principal characters having to tend to family and the ordinary demands of life while barely holding themselves together over the losses they have suffered. Yet these are their only opportunities to heal and come to terms with their pain. Spielmann accentuates these sequences with often picturesque long shots within which silence reigns and the magnitude of the suffering seems to pale into comparison with the enormity of the surrounding world.

Johannes Krisch, who some IMDb readers have intriguingly compared to Robert Carlysle, is well-cast as the hardened Alex. He not only looks the part, but conveys just the right mix of softness within a wary, battle-worn shell. Andreas Lust, as Robert, expertly portrays the policeman whose life collapses beneath him, propelling him into a world of anguish and self-doubt. Credit also goes to Johannes Thanheiser as Alex's grandfather, a man for whom life is much the same each day, yet this is no reason to complain, and Ursula Strauss as Susanne, who, as Robert's wife, must balance her role as supporter in difficult times with her needs as a woman.

Ultimately, the film leaves the viewer to tie up the loose ends, inviting comment on the drama that has unfolded. This is definitely a strong effort from all concerned, and a very mature approach to what easily could have been a simplistic action snuff piece. It's art imitating life with frankness and honesty, and worthwhile viewing. Actual rating: 7 1/2 stars.