Victoria

Adopt Films | Release Date: October 9, 2015

7.7	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 107 Ratings

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joehavermannJan 2, 2016

Sebastian Schipper’s flawless masterpiece is a potent reminder of why I love cinema. It expertly evokes the entire gamut of human emotion, and its actors have some of the best chemistry that I have ever seen in a film. More than any film thisSebastian Schipper’s flawless masterpiece is a potent reminder of why I love cinema. It expertly evokes the entire gamut of human emotion, and its actors have some of the best chemistry that I have ever seen in a film. More than any film this year, “Victoria” is best viewed without knowing too much about the plot. The film consists of a single, 140 minute take, and yet it ends so far away from where it begins that it is easy to forget that the story unfolds in real time: A young woman from Spain meets a group of German guys as she is leaving a club in Berlin. You get the sense that she’s lonely, bored, and frustrated with her life, and so she continues to hang out with them, even when things don’t seem quite right. She’s drawn to Sonne, the charming young man who initially approaches her: most of the first half of the film shows their carefree and playful interaction. The audience falls in love with the characters at the same time as the two main characters fall in love with one another... And then something happens, and would Victoria be willing to do just one, small favor? There is nothing gimmicky about the fact that the film is a single shot – actually one shot, not edited to appear that way: it’s a decision that thrusts the audience into the film, in the same way that Victoria is thrust into the events of the story. At first blush the plot might seem absurd, and yet, emotionally and logically, each sequence seems to follow inescapably from the sequence that precedes it, and the viewer is left with the sense that none of the characters ever quite grasp the gravity of the decisions that they are making. “Victoria” is powerfully well made – it’s my favorite film of this year, and one of my favorite films of any year.… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

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xguestNov 22, 2015

What a waste of time! The first half is utterly boring, none of the characters inspires any sympathy, and Victoria's behavior is totally absurd and makes no sense at all. I waited the whole time for some kind of punchline, that would justifyWhat a waste of time! The first half is utterly boring, none of the characters inspires any sympathy, and Victoria's behavior is totally absurd and makes no sense at all. I waited the whole time for some kind of punchline, that would justify the gushing reviews, but it never came.… Expand

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

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a428348Nov 21, 2015

What a great great movie! And I'm not saying that just because of the technical brilliance (which is already impressive enough). I'm saying it because you, as a viewer, really get to be in the movie, with the characters, in their lives, andWhat a great great movie! And I'm not saying that just because of the technical brilliance (which is already impressive enough). I'm saying it because you, as a viewer, really get to be in the movie, with the characters, in their lives, and follow them around, like you were an invisible observer. It's an extraordinary experience, and about how many movies can you say that?… Expand

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

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atharoonNov 20, 2015

Victoria is a fascinating concept - over two hours of a single take produces a heavy tension around what this young spanish woman experiences that early morning in Berlin.
But even if you keep in mind, that Victoria is - with her teenageVictoria is a fascinating concept - over two hours of a single take produces a heavy tension around what this young spanish woman experiences that early morning in Berlin.
But even if you keep in mind, that Victoria is - with her teenage past almost entirely filled by her desparate effort to become a professional piano player - someone ready to party, have fun, have real friends. She wants to live a life worth living. Even with all this in mind, I had from the moment after moment thinking: Victoria, why are you doing this? Why are you not just running away? She may want to live life, but is she crazy? The story concept just wraps a thick layer of madness around Victoria's character, a layer way too thick for my taste.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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MinosOfCreteMay 10, 2016

I went into Victoria with the knowledge that the whole thing is captured in one take, which is pretty impressive considering the fact that for the whole 2 hours and 20 minutes, the actress actually does a pretty good job of maintaining aI went into Victoria with the knowledge that the whole thing is captured in one take, which is pretty impressive considering the fact that for the whole 2 hours and 20 minutes, the actress actually does a pretty good job of maintaining a realistic performance.

However...the whole thing is way too drawn out, and obviously since it's one take, there are super long filler sections which aren't emotionally interesting or significant, it's literally just sections of the characters driving or walking to more interesting set-pieces or scenes. In a normal movie, moving from say a nightclub to a rooftop store scene is edited out because it bring you to the best part quickly. Here, the technical trick erodes the cogency of the story and leaves us looking at people just rambling along or driving in silence. Does that make for a good movie if we ignore the 'wow' factor of it being taken in a single take?

Having said that, there are actually a few interesting scenes towards the end which actually felt tense, and the cinematic style was pretty effective in making that tension felt. However for me, this is no Breaking Bad level of tension, the payoff isn't really worth the wait as the story can't really evolve into something more complicated within the rigid format within which it's allowed to operate.

Final thoughts: This isn't a 'bad' movie, but it's not a great one either. In some parts though, it's just flat out boring, and being long, it just feels like it's fiddling with its thumbs, as we wait for the characters to travel to another place to do something more enthralling than what they're doing right now. Maybe that's why editing really is so crucial, and it really shows with this film. If you like the super-organic feel of characters in a film though, you might enjoy this one.… Expand