Victoria (2015)

A young Spanish woman who has recently moved to Berlin finds her flirtation with a local guy turn potentially deadly as their night out with his friends reveals a dangerous secret.

Director:

Sebastian Schipper

Writers:

Sebastian Schipper (story), Olivia Neergaard-Holm (story)

Stars:

Laia Costa, Frederick Lau, Franz Rogowski

18 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laia Costa	...	Victoria
Frederick Lau	...	Sonne
Franz Rogowski	...	Boxer
Burak Yigit	...	Blinker
Max Mauff	...	Fuß
André Hennicke	...	Andi (as André M. Hennicke)
Eike Frederik Schulz	...	Barkeeper
Hans-Ulrich Laux	...	Taxifahrer (as Hans Ulrich Laux)
Lena Klenke	...	Junge Mutter (as Anna Lena Klenke)
Philipp Kubitza	...	Junger Vater
Martin Goeres	...	SEK 1
Andreas Schmitka	...	SEK 2 (as Andreas Schmittka)
Jan Breustedt	...	Hooligan kurze Haare
David Micas	...	Hooligan lange Haare
Timo Honsa	...	Zivilfahnder 1

Storyline

A young Spanish woman who has recently moved to Berlin finds her flirtation with a local guy turn potentially deadly as their night out with his friends reveals a dangerous secret.

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Plot Keywords:

real time | shot in a single take | drug use | bank robbery | shot to death | 

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Taglines:

One girl. One city. One night. One take.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [United Kingdom] Official site [Spain]

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English Spanish Turkish

Release Date:

11 June 2015 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Виктория

Filming Locations:

Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,191,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

MonkeyBoy, Deutschfilm, Radical Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in one single continuous shot (134 minutes).

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Goofs

As the camera follows Victoria up the ladder to the building's roof, the cameraman's left hand is visible.

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Quotes

Victoria: I've been... I've been... I don't know the name, how you say that... I've been... in the conservatory, you know... I was in the conservatory. and I cannot continue in the conservatory because I'm not good enough, or something like that
Sonne: Because they're stupid, or what?
Victoria: No, it's OK. I prefer that.
Sonne: No, really... Because it's amazing. It's like. You know, I...
Victoria: No, it's not amazing... I don't know. I've been sixteen and a half years practicing playing the piano. every day, like seven hours every day...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movies Told in Real Time (2017)

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Soundtracks

Them
Written by Nils Frahm
Published by Manners McDade Publishing Limited

User Reviews

Five-Word Review: Mind-boggling Technical Achievement; Average Film

Victoria, I am sad to say, is largely overrated despite the truly mesmerising cinematography. Since the incredible one-take film became widely known, most of the critical consensus agrees that is a fantastic film. I found it only decent. Whilst there are moments of genuine breathless tension, the crime elements are superb, and the ending is good, it seems too often like it is trying to be - and I am loath to use this word - 'artsy'. The script was apparently only 12 pages long (that's about 11 minutes of film per script page) which means almost all of the dialogue is improvised. Which is neat, but does not make for compelling viewing, as the characters apart from the titular protagonist (another positive would be Laia Costa's stupendous performance) just don't have enough depth to be interesting. Were it not for the unique cinematographic excellence this would be nothing more than an average thriller with some decent moments that tried too hard to rise above its station.

But talking of the cinematography...take a bow Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, you magnificent genius. This bests all the works of Emmanuel Lubezki and Roger Deakins, and is simply the best feat of cinematography I've ever seen. Flawlessly transitioning from building to street to car to club to the intensity of a foot race and shoot out, all with the precision and careful craftsmanship of any great film. In fact, after only 15 minutes you're barely noticing it any more. After a while, you may realise that you've literally followed these characters all the way from that club and the mind boggles. It's arguably worth watching just to witness this spectacular achievement - you'll most likely find an entrancing and ambitious effort that has a film tacked on to it with ideas a little above its station and a tendency to be too showy at times. 62/100