Jump to content

Revanche (film): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Undid revision 920841522 by 178.66.99.51 (talk)
Tags: Undo Non-autoconfirmed user rapidly reverting edits
Jim47658 (talk | contribs)
191 edits
→Plot: obvious mistake (he for she)
 
(45 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|2008 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = Revanche
| name = Revanche
Line 8: Line 9:
| producer = Heinz Stussak<br />Mathias Forberg<br />Götz Spielmann<br />Sandra Bohle
| producer = Heinz Stussak<br />Mathias Forberg<br />Götz Spielmann<br />Sandra Bohle
| writer = Götz Spielmann
| writer = Götz Spielmann
| starring = Johannes Krisch<br />Irina Potapenko<br />[[Ursula Strauss]]<br />[[Hanno Pöschl]]
| starring = [[Johannes Krisch]]<br />[[Ursula Strauss]]<br />[[:de:Irina Potapenko|Irina Potapenko]]<br />Andreas Lust<br />Hannes Thanheiser<br />[[Hanno Pöschl]]
| cinematography = Martin Gschlacht
| cinematography = [[Martin Gschlacht]]
| editing = Karina Ressler
| editing = Karina Ressler
| studio = Prisma Films<br />Spielmann Film
| studio = Prisma Films<br />Spielmann Film
| distributor = Filmladen
| distributor = Filmladen
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2008|02|10|Berlin International Film Festival|2008|05|16}}
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2008|02|10|Berlin International Film Festival|2008|05|16}}
| runtime = 122 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 121:48--><ref>{{cite web|title=''REVANCHE'' (15)|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF267975/|work=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=2010-04-09|accessdate=2012-11-24}}</ref>
| runtime = 122 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 121:48--><ref>{{cite web|title=''REVANCHE'' (15)|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF267975/|work=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=2010-04-09|accessdate=2012-11-24}}</ref>
| country = Austria
| country = Austria
| language = [[German language|German]]<br />[[Russian language|Russian]]
| language = [[German language|German]]<br />[[Russian language|Russian]]
| budget =
| budget =
| gross = $192,451 (US)<ref>{{cite web|title=Revanche (2009)|url=http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=revanche.htm|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</ref>
| gross = $192,451 (US)<ref>{{cite web|title=Revanche (2009)|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=revanche.htm|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</ref>
}}
}}
'''''Revanche''''' is a 2008 Austrian [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] film written and directed by [[Götz Spielmann]]. It centers on the ill-fated love story between a Viennese ex-con and a Ukrainian prostitute who get involved in a bank robbery.
'''''Revanche''''' is a 2008 Austrian [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] film written and directed by [[Götz Spielmann]]. It centers on the ill-fated love story between a Viennese ex-con and a Ukrainian prostitute who get involved in a bank robbery.
Line 25: Line 26:


==Plot==
==Plot==
Alex, an ex-convict living in Vienna and working as muscle at a brothel, starts a relationship with Tamara, a Ukrainian prostitute who works there. Alex plans to rob a bank in a small village, then hide out with his grandfather, Hausner, who lives there, before leaving with Tamara to start a new life together. He lets an anxious and clingy Tamara accompany him on the robbery. They have a run-in with a local policeman named Robert outside the bank, and Tamara is accidentally killed when Robert fires at their fleeing car. A despondent Alex escapes and hides out at Hausner's farm as planned.
{{plot|date=February 2012}}
Alex works in [[Vienna]] for Konecny, owner of the brothel "Cinderella", where Tamara, a [[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]] prostitute, also works. Konecny has a possessive attitude towards Tamara, not realizing that she and Alex are in a secret relationship and want to leave Vienna as soon as possible to begin a new life together. While visiting his grandfather Hausner, who lives on a smallholding in the country, Alex decides to rob the local bank. Hausner has a neighbour, Susanne, who lives nearby, and visits him regularly. She is married to Robert, a policeman. They keenly want a child, but although Susanne was pregnant, she lost the baby and is unable to conceive a second time because of Robert's fertility problems. Susanne would like to adopt, but Robert refuses to accept that there is any difficulty in his fathering children. Consequently, their relationship is suffering.


Robert's marriage to his wife, Susanne, is strained, as she is apparently unable to conceive a child, and his repressed guilt over the shooting worsens this strain. They happen to be neighbors to Hausner, with whom Susanne is good friends, and she encounters Alex while visiting him. Alex learns Susanne's husband was the shooter and begins stalking Robert with a loaded gun. An oblivious Susanne propositions Alex during a visit to the farm, and the two commence an affair. Robert suffers a panic attack at work and is put on suspension, finally opening up to Susanne about his guilt over the shooting and general self-loathing.
Tamara has a bad feeling about Alex's planned bank robbery, and insists on waiting for him in the getaway car while Alex, armed and masked, holds up the bank. By chance, Robert is on patrol and walks past the car at the moment Alex is returning to it. Alex threatens him with his gun and drives off. Robert shoots at the tires as it speeds away but instead hits Tamara fatally. In despair, Alex abandons the car and Tamara's body in the wood and makes his way to Hausner's farm, where he hides out. His loss makes him very withdrawn and distraught; he scarcely speaks, and spends hours every day aggressively chopping wood for the winter. Hausner begins playing the accordion a great deal with encouragement by Susanne, who visits often, adding to Alex's growing unease.


Alex confronts Robert in the woods, questioning him about the shooting in veiled terms. Robert admits his regret but also chastises the robber (in the third person) for needlessly bringing Tamara along. After Robert leaves, Alex throws his gun in the pond. As Hausner's health deteriorates, Alex resolves to stay at the farm and look after it in his stead. Susanne successfully gets pregnant by Alex, passing it off as Robert's child. She visits Alex to cut off their affair and recognizes a photo of Tamara, realizing Alex was the robber. Alex agrees to keep their tryst a secret and expresses no further intention of harming Robert as he returns to work on the farm.
Robert and Susanne's relationship becomes further strained because Robert's unintentional killing of Tamara is causing him great mental anguish. He blames himself for it and can find no way to discuss or deal with the guilt. He carries Tamara's photo round with him, and looks at it constantly. His colleagues refuse to take his grief seriously, and try to encourage him by telling him that he has only killed a bank robber's accomplice, and that in the forthcoming official inquiry into the death he will have nothing to worry about.

While they are shopping Alex and Hausner meet Susanne, who tells them about the bank robbery and that it was her husband who shot at the car. This has an effect on Alex. On her visits to Hausner, Alex has scarcely reacted at all to the extremely talkative Susanne and, when he does, is very dismissive, although this has apparently not bothered her. Under cover of darkness, he now starts to spy on the couple in their house and follows Robert when he goes jogging in the woods. After one of her visits to Hausner, Alex speaks to Susanne bluntly and tries to discourage her from returning. This seems not to trouble her: she invites him to her house, and says that she will be alone that evening. Alex appears not to react to the invitation but that evening suddenly turns up at her terrace door and startles her, until she realises that it is "only Alex." She offers him a glass of wine. While Susanne talks brightly but nervously in an uninterrupted stream, Alex looks depressed and is almost silent. After a while he asks her why she wants to have sex with him. To his astonishment Susanne participates willingly in an almost brutal sex act, which seems to offer Alex a vent for his accumulated aggression. When he goes to take a shower he sees the nursery that Suzanne and Robert have set up in their house, but Susanne refuses to discuss it. As he is leaving she asks if he wants to come again.

The next time Alex sees Robert jogging in the woods, he draws his gun and aims it at Robert's back, but does not fire it. Alex later meets Susanne again while shopping. She tells him that she will be alone again that evening and that she wants him to visit her, which he does. She asks him whether he has a girlfriend, and he tells her that until recently he used to have, but that she was murdered, and that now he thinks day and night about killing the murderer. Susanne protests that he cannot do such a thing, and must not even think about it. But she understands now why Alex is so cold, and takes him to bed. In the night Susanne is wakened by the sound of a car engine. Robert has come home, and she urges Alex, lying next to her, to go. Robert, crying, tells Susanne that he has been declared unfit for duty and suspended from the police force. He shows her Tamara's photo, which he is unable to stop looking at. As Susanne goes to throw it away, she sees Alex leaving the house.

Some days later Alex is sitting on a bench by the lake in the woods and waiting for Robert. He jogs past, and sits on the bench with Alex. In the course of their conversation the subject of the bank robbery arises. Robert tells how the death of the young woman has preyed on his mind, and how he was aiming to shoot the tires. Alex asks if Robert is not afraid that the robber will come and shoot him, out of revenge. Robert's only comment is a resigned "He's welcome to."<ref>„Soll er ruhig“.</ref> He gets up to leave but pauses to add that he would like to ask the bankrobber why he took the woman with him in the first place: "the whole mess wouldn't have happened if the woman hadn't been in that car without any reason."<ref>„Die ganze Scheiße wäre nicht passiert, wenn die Frau nicht sinnlos im Auto gesessen wäre“.</ref> When Robert is out of sight, Alex throws his gun into the lake. That evening Susanne tells her husband that at last she is pregnant.

On Sunday Susanne calls again to take Hausner to church, but he is in hospital and only Alex is at home. She asks him to consider their affair at an end, and not to tell her husband about it, and Alex promises this. Susanne then sees Alex's photo of Tamara on the table, and in a moment of insight the connections suddenly become clear to her. At the end the two come to an understanding. The last scene is of Alex collecting fallen apples into a big basket.


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Johannes Krisch]] as Alex
* [[Johannes Krisch]] as Alex
* Irina Potapenko as Tamara
* [[:de:Irina Potapenko|Irina Potapenko]] as Tamara
⚫
* Andreas Lust as Robert
* [[Ursula Strauss]] as Susanne
* [[Ursula Strauss]] as Susanne
⚫
* Hannes Thanheiser as Hausner
* [[Hanno Pöschl]] as Konecny
* [[Hanno Pöschl]] as Konecny
⚫
* Andreas Lust as Robert
⚫
* Hannes Thanheiser as Grandfather Hausner


==Production==
==Production==
[[File:Goetz Spielmann Linz 2008.jpg|thumb|175px|Götz Spielmann at the presentation of ''Revanche'' at the crossing Europe film festival in [[Linz]], late April 2008]]
[[File:Goetz Spielmann Linz 2008.jpg|thumb|175px|Götz Spielmann at the presentation of ''Revanche'' at the crossing Europe film festival in [[Linz]], late April 2008]]
⚫
Film distribution in Austria is by Filmladen, while the world rights are held by The Match Factory, [[Cologne]]. The film was promoted by the Austrian Film Institute (''Österreichisches Filminstitut'') and the [[Bundesland (Austria)|state]] of [[Lower Austria]].<!--and as part of the [[Film-/Fernseh-Abkommen (Österreich)]].-->

[[Production design]] was by Maria Gruber, who won the ''Femina Film Prize'' for it. Heinz Ebner was responsible for the sound. Film production was carried out entirely by the company Listo in Vienna.
[[Production design]] was by Maria Gruber, who won the ''Femina Film Prize'' for it. Heinz Ebner was responsible for the sound. Film production was carried out entirely by the company Listo in Vienna.


⚫
Large parts of the film were shot in the area round [[Gföhl]] and [[Ottenschlag]] in the ''[[Waldviertel]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sommerkinoe.at/?ki=st20080615125529|title = Kinosommer Niederösterreich 2021}}</ref>
===Filming locations===
⚫
Large parts of the film were shot in the area round [[Gföhl]] and [[Ottenschlag]] in the ''[[Waldviertel]]''.<ref>http://www.sommerkinoe.at/?ki=st20080615125529</ref>


==Release==
==Release==
⚫
Film distribution in Austria is by Filmladen, while the world rights are held by The Match Factory, [[Cologne]]. The film was promoted by the Austrian Film Institute (''Österreichisches Filminstitut'') and the state of [[Lower Austria]].<!--and as part of the [[Film-/Fernseh-Abkommen (Österreich)]].-->
⚫
The film opened on 12 February 2009 in German cinemas and was subsequently released at different times in various European countries and the United States over the following months.<ref>https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1173745/releaseinfo</ref>

⚫
The film opened on 12 February 2009 in German cinemas and was subsequently released at different times in various European countries and the United States over the following months.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1173745/releaseinfo|title=Revanche (2008) - IMDb|website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref>


===Awards submission===
===Awards submission===
The film was submitted on 1 September 2008 by the [[Austrian Film Commission]] as the Austrian entry for selection for the Oscars in the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign-Language Film]] category, and on 22 January 2009 was nominated by the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] out of 67 entries as one of five films.<ref>[[Austria Presse Agentur|APA]]: ''[http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=1219938618071 ‚Revanche‘ ringt um Auslands-Oscar].'' In: [[Der Standard]], 1 September 2008 (retrieved 4 September 2008)</ref><ref>[http://www.oscars.org/awards/81academyawards/nominees.html Nominees of the 81st Academy Awards]</ref> This was the third time that Austria had submitted a film by Spielmann: the first two were ''The Stranger (Die Fremde)'' (2000) and ''[[Antares (film)|Antares]]'' (2004). Director Götz Spielmann did not appear especially surprised at film being short-listed, as it was ''"already obvious"''<ref>''"schon sichtbar"''</ref> that ''"'Revanche' will be unusually well received in the USA"''.<ref>''"in den USA ausgesprochen gut aufgenommen wird"''</ref> He did not think an actual nomination impossible, but it would be a close-run thing. Spielmann saw three other favorites for distinction in this category–''[[Waltz with Bashir]]'', ''[[The Class (2008 film)|The Class]]'' and ''[[Everlasting Moments]]''–which apart from the last were also among the nominees.<ref name="shortlist">APA/dpa: ''[http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=1231151835749 Götz Spielmanns ‚Revanche‘ auf der Oscar-Shortlist.]'' Der Standard, 14 January 2009 (retrieved on 14 January 2009)</ref>
The film was submitted on 1 September 2008 by the [[Austrian Film Commission]] as the Austrian entry for selection for the Oscars in the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign-Language Film]] category, and on 22 January 2009 was nominated by the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] out of 67 entries as one of five films.<ref>[[Austria Presse Agentur|APA]]: ''[http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=1219938618071 ‚Revanche‘ ringt um Auslands-Oscar].'' In: [[Der Standard]], 1 September 2008 (Retrieved 4 September 2008)</ref><ref>[http://www.oscars.org/awards/81academyawards/nominees.html Nominees of the 81st Academy Awards]</ref> This was the third time that Austria had submitted a film by Spielmann: the first two were ''The Stranger (Die Fremde)'' (2000) and ''[[Antares (film)|Antares]]'' (2004). Director Götz Spielmann did not appear especially surprised at the film being short-listed, as it was ''"already obvious"''<ref>''"schon sichtbar"''</ref> that ''"'Revanche' will be unusually well received in the USA"''.<ref>''"in den USA ausgesprochen gut aufgenommen wird"''</ref> He did not think an actual nomination impossible, but it would be a close-run thing.<ref name="shortlist">APA/dpa: ''[http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=1231151835749 Götz Spielmanns ‚Revanche‘ auf der Oscar-Shortlist.]'' Der Standard, 14 January 2009 (retrieved on 14 January 2009)</ref>


===Critical reception===
===Critical reception===
Following the world premiere at the [[Berlin International Film Festival]] 2008 the film had excellent reviews around the world and received several awards. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''{{'}}s Alissa Simon noted:
Following the world premiere at the [[Berlin International Film Festival]] 2008 the film had excellent reviews around the world and received several awards. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''{{'}}s Alissa Simon noted:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
"Elegantly spinning primal elements of guilt, revenge, faith and redemption, helmer's [''sic''] gripping fifth feature is prime [[film festival|fest]] material that's likely to rate Euro arthouse exposure, with further viewers in ancillary. (...) Stillness and sounds of nature play a key role in creating pic's intense atmosphere. (...) Asking the question, "Whose fault is it if life doesn't go your way?," the cleverly constructed script introduces some fresh and surprising twists and turns. (...) Impressive lensing from Martin Gschlacht, the key cinematographer for Austria's young helmers [''sic''], provides simplicity and clarity, while concise cutting by Karina Ressler allows no gratuitous moments in a pic that clocks in at just over two hours. With ''Revanche'' his strongest work yet, Spielmann creates high expectations for the future."<ref>[https://archive.is/20120914055457/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936227.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 Variety.com: review]</ref>
"Elegantly spinning primal elements of guilt, revenge, faith and redemption, helmer's [''sic''] gripping fifth feature is prime [[film festival|fest]] material that's likely to rate Euro arthouse exposure, with further viewers in ancillary. (...) Stillness and sounds of nature play a key role in creating pic's intense atmosphere. (...) Asking the question, "Whose fault is it if life doesn't go your way?," the cleverly constructed script introduces some fresh and surprising twists and turns. (...) Impressive lensing from Martin Gschlacht, the key cinematographer for Austria's young helmers [''sic''], provides simplicity and clarity, while concise cutting by Karina Ressler allows no gratuitous moments in a pic that clocks in at just over two hours. With ''Revanche'' his strongest work yet, Spielmann creates high expectations for the future."<ref>[https://archive.today/20120914055457/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936227.html?categoryid=31&cs=1 Variety.com: review]</ref>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


''Revanche'' has an approval rating of 96% on [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 83 reviews, and an average rating of 7.89/10. The website's critical consensus states, "With ''Revanche'', Götz Spielmann has crafted a debut as surprising as it is suspenseful".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/revanche|title = Revanche|website = [[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> It also has a score of 84 out of 100 on [[Metacritic]], based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revanche|title = Revanche|website = [[Metacritic]]}}</ref>
⚫
In January 2009 it was announced that ''Revanche'' was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]].<ref>[http://www.oscars.org/awards/81academyawards/nominees.html Nominees & Winners the 81st Academy Awards]</ref>


''Revanche'' was placed at 90 on ''[[Slant Magazine]]''{{'}}s best films of the 2000s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/feature/best-of-the-aughts-film/216/page_2|work=[[Slant Magazine]]|accessdate=February 10, 2010|title=Best of the Aughts: Film}}</ref>
''Revanche'' was placed at 90 on ''[[Slant Magazine]]''{{'}}s best films of the 2000s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/feature/best-of-the-aughts-film/216/page_2|work=[[Slant Magazine]]|accessdate=10 February 2010|title=Best of the Aughts: Film|date=7 February 2010}}</ref>


===Awards===
===Awards===
⚫
In January 2009 it was announced that ''Revanche'' was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]].<ref>[http://www.oscars.org/awards/81academyawards/nominees.html Nominees & Winners the 81st Academy Awards]</ref>

* [[Berlin International Film Festival]] 2008
* [[Berlin International Film Festival]] 2008
** ''European Cinemas Label'' as ''Best European Film'' of the Panorama section
** ''European Cinemas Label'' as ''Best European Film'' of the Panorama section
Line 81: Line 74:
** ''Grand Award'' as ''Best Austrian feature film''
** ''Grand Award'' as ''Best Austrian feature film''
** ''Spezial Award of the Jury'' for actress [[Ursula Strauss]]
** ''Spezial Award of the Jury'' for actress [[Ursula Strauss]]
** ''Diagonale-Prize of the Association of Austrian Cinematographers'' to [[Martin Gschlacht]] for ''best cinematography in a feature film''
** ''Diagonale-Prize of the Association of Austrian Cinematographers'' to Martin Gschlacht for ''best cinematography in a feature film''
* [[Tromsø International Film Festival]] 2008 (Norway):
* [[Tromsø International Film Festival]] 2008 (Norway):
** [[FIPRESCI]] Award
** [[FIPRESCI]] Award
Line 87: Line 80:
* [[Palm Springs International Film Festival]] 2008: FIPRESCI-Award as ''Best Foreign Language Film of the Year''
* [[Palm Springs International Film Festival]] 2008: FIPRESCI-Award as ''Best Foreign Language Film of the Year''


Awards from smaller film festivals: at the Filmkunstfest 2008 in [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] (''Fliegender Ochse'' as ''best feature film''), at the [[Monterrey]] International Film Festival 2008 (''Best Screenplay'' and ''Audience Award''), at the Fünf Seen Filmfestival in [[Starnberg]] (First Prize ''Star 2008''), and at the International Filmfestival [[Motovun]] (''From A to A-Award'').
Awards from smaller film festivals: at the Filmkunstfest 2008 in [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] (''Fliegender Ochse'' as ''best feature film''), at the [[Monterrey]] International Film Festival 2008 (''Best Screenplay'' and ''Audience Award''), at the Fünf Seen Filmfestival in [[Starnberg]] (First Prize ''Star 2008''), and at the International Filmfestival [[Motovun]] (''From A to A-Award'').


==References==
==References==
Line 101: Line 94:
*[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1372-revanche-revival-of-the-fittest ''Revanche: Revival of the Fittest''] an essay by [[Armond White]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]
*[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1372-revanche-revival-of-the-fittest ''Revanche: Revival of the Fittest''] an essay by [[Armond White]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]


{{Austrian submission for Academy Awards}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revanche}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revanche}}
[[Category:2008 films]]
[[Category:2008 films]]
[[Category:2000s crime films]]
[[Category:2008 crime thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s romantic drama films]]
[[Category:2008 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:2000s psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:2008 psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:German-language films]]
[[Category:2000s German-language films]]
[[Category:Russian-language films]]
[[Category:2000s Russian-language films]]
[[Category:Austrian films]]
[[Category:Austrian crime drama films]]
[[Category:Austrian drama films]]
[[Category:Austrian independent films]]
[[Category:Films about religion]]
[[Category:Films about religion]]
[[Category:Films about revenge]]
[[Category:Films about revenge]]

Latest revision as of 22:31, 23 November 2024

Revanche
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGötz Spielmann
Written byGötz Spielmann
Produced byHeinz Stussak
Mathias Forberg
Götz Spielmann
Sandra Bohle
StarringJohannes Krisch
Ursula Strauss
Irina Potapenko
Andreas Lust
Hannes Thanheiser
Hanno Pöschl
CinematographyMartin Gschlacht
Edited byKarina Ressler
Production
companies
Prisma Films
Spielmann Film
Distributed byFilmladen
Release dates
  • 10 February 2008 (2008-02-10) (Berlin International Film Festival)
  • 16 May 2008 (2008-05-16)
Running time
122 minutes[1]
CountryAustria
LanguagesGerman
Russian
Box office$192,451 (US)[2]

Revanche is a 2008 Austrian thriller film written and directed by Götz Spielmann. It centers on the ill-fated love story between a Viennese ex-con and a Ukrainian prostitute who get involved in a bank robbery.

The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2008. It received critical acclaim and won a number of awards, and was nominated for the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Plot

[edit]

Alex, an ex-convict living in Vienna and working as muscle at a brothel, starts a relationship with Tamara, a Ukrainian prostitute who works there. Alex plans to rob a bank in a small village, then hide out with his grandfather, Hausner, who lives there, before leaving with Tamara to start a new life together. He lets an anxious and clingy Tamara accompany him on the robbery. They have a run-in with a local policeman named Robert outside the bank, and Tamara is accidentally killed when Robert fires at their fleeing car. A despondent Alex escapes and hides out at Hausner's farm as planned.

Robert's marriage to his wife, Susanne, is strained, as she is apparently unable to conceive a child, and his repressed guilt over the shooting worsens this strain. They happen to be neighbors to Hausner, with whom Susanne is good friends, and she encounters Alex while visiting him. Alex learns Susanne's husband was the shooter and begins stalking Robert with a loaded gun. An oblivious Susanne propositions Alex during a visit to the farm, and the two commence an affair. Robert suffers a panic attack at work and is put on suspension, finally opening up to Susanne about his guilt over the shooting and general self-loathing.

Alex confronts Robert in the woods, questioning him about the shooting in veiled terms. Robert admits his regret but also chastises the robber (in the third person) for needlessly bringing Tamara along. After Robert leaves, Alex throws his gun in the pond. As Hausner's health deteriorates, Alex resolves to stay at the farm and look after it in his stead. Susanne successfully gets pregnant by Alex, passing it off as Robert's child. She visits Alex to cut off their affair and recognizes a photo of Tamara, realizing Alex was the robber. Alex agrees to keep their tryst a secret and expresses no further intention of harming Robert as he returns to work on the farm.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]
Götz Spielmann at the presentation of Revanche at the crossing Europe film festival in Linz, late April 2008

Production design was by Maria Gruber, who won the Femina Film Prize for it. Heinz Ebner was responsible for the sound. Film production was carried out entirely by the company Listo in Vienna.

Large parts of the film were shot in the area round Gföhl and Ottenschlag in the Waldviertel.[3]

Release

[edit]

Film distribution in Austria is by Filmladen, while the world rights are held by The Match Factory, Cologne. The film was promoted by the Austrian Film Institute (Österreichisches Filminstitut) and the state of Lower Austria.

The film opened on 12 February 2009 in German cinemas and was subsequently released at different times in various European countries and the United States over the following months.[4]

Awards submission

[edit]

The film was submitted on 1 September 2008 by the Austrian Film Commission as the Austrian entry for selection for the Oscars in the Best Foreign-Language Film category, and on 22 January 2009 was nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences out of 67 entries as one of five films.[5][6] This was the third time that Austria had submitted a film by Spielmann: the first two were The Stranger (Die Fremde) (2000) and Antares (2004). Director Götz Spielmann did not appear especially surprised at the film being short-listed, as it was "already obvious"[7] that "'Revanche' will be unusually well received in the USA".[8] He did not think an actual nomination impossible, but it would be a close-run thing.[9]

Critical reception

[edit]

Following the world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival 2008 the film had excellent reviews around the world and received several awards. Variety's Alissa Simon noted:

"Elegantly spinning primal elements of guilt, revenge, faith and redemption, helmer's [sic] gripping fifth feature is prime fest material that's likely to rate Euro arthouse exposure, with further viewers in ancillary. (...) Stillness and sounds of nature play a key role in creating pic's intense atmosphere. (...) Asking the question, "Whose fault is it if life doesn't go your way?," the cleverly constructed script introduces some fresh and surprising twists and turns. (...) Impressive lensing from Martin Gschlacht, the key cinematographer for Austria's young helmers [sic], provides simplicity and clarity, while concise cutting by Karina Ressler allows no gratuitous moments in a pic that clocks in at just over two hours. With Revanche his strongest work yet, Spielmann creates high expectations for the future."[10]

Revanche has an approval rating of 96% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 83 reviews, and an average rating of 7.89/10. The website's critical consensus states, "With Revanche, Götz Spielmann has crafted a debut as surprising as it is suspenseful".[11] It also has a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[12]

Revanche was placed at 90 on Slant Magazine's best films of the 2000s.[13]

Awards

[edit]

In January 2009 it was announced that Revanche was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[14]

Awards from smaller film festivals: at the Filmkunstfest 2008 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Fliegender Ochse as best feature film), at the Monterrey International Film Festival 2008 (Best Screenplay and Audience Award), at the Fünf Seen Filmfestival in Starnberg (First Prize Star 2008), and at the International Filmfestival Motovun (From A to A-Award).

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "REVANCHE (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  2. ^ "Revanche (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Kinosommer Niederösterreich 2021".
  4. ^ "Revanche (2008) - IMDb". IMDb.
  5. ^ APA: ‚Revanche‘ ringt um Auslands-Oscar. In: Der Standard, 1 September 2008 (Retrieved 4 September 2008)
  6. ^ Nominees of the 81st Academy Awards
  7. ^ "schon sichtbar"
  8. ^ "in den USA ausgesprochen gut aufgenommen wird"
  9. ^ APA/dpa: Götz Spielmanns ‚Revanche‘ auf der Oscar-Shortlist. Der Standard, 14 January 2009 (retrieved on 14 January 2009)
  10. ^ Variety.com: review
  11. ^ "Revanche". Rotten Tomatoes.
  12. ^ "Revanche". Metacritic.
  13. ^ "Best of the Aughts: Film". Slant Magazine. 7 February 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  14. ^ Nominees & Winners the 81st Academy Awards
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Revanche_(film)&oldid=1259200038"