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Revanche (film)

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Revanche
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGötz Spielmann
Written byGötz Spielmann
Produced byHeinz Stussak
Mathias Forberg
Götz Spielmann
Sandra Bohle
StarringJohannes Krisch
Irina Potapenko
Ursula Strauss
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

Alex is an ex-convict living in Vienna, working as muscle at a brothel where he secretly enters a relationship with one of the prostitutes, Tamara, a Ukrainian immigrant deep in debt to her possessive pimp. Seeking enough money to escape their dead-end situation, Alex hatches a plan to rob the bank of a rural village where his grandfather Hausner lives. One of Hausner's neighbors is a local policeman named Robert, who lives a quiet life with his shopkeeper wife Susanne. Robert and Susanne are attempting to conceive a child, but Robert has fertility problems. This results in a small amount of strain on their marriage.

The day that Alex carries out the robbery, an anxious Tamara insists she accompany him, and Alex complies. Robert happens upon the illegally parked car with Tamara inside while Alex is carrying out the robbery, and attempts to question her. This results in a confrontation when a masked Alex returns. As Alex and Tamara flee the scene, Robert fires his sidearm at the car, accidentally shooting and killing Tamara. A despondent Alex abandons the car in the woods with Tamara's body inside, and goes on foot to Hausner's farm. There he hides out as planned, intending to stay for a week and help Hausner chop wood.

Robert is troubled by the aftermath of the shooting when the car is found and it becomes clear he killed Tamara. He carries a crime scene photo of her corpse around with him, looking at it in private. He drives a further rift between himself and Susanne as he represses his feelings and refuses to talk to her about the shooting, while also accusing her of holding him responsible for the woman's death. Susanne frequently visits Hausner, with whom she is friendly, and Alex overhears a conversation between them about the shooting, learning that the policeman was Susanne's husband. He begins stalking Robert, locating his and Susanne's house and spying on them late at night, as well as tracking Robert's regular morning jogs to a nearby pond. Alex starts carrying a loaded gun while stalking Robert.

After learning of Susanne's connection to the shooting, Alex becomes unnerved by her frequent visits to Hausner's farm, reacting abrasively to her curiosity towards him. He finally confronts her, ordering her to stop visiting Hausner, and Susanne abruptly propositions Alex. The two begin an affair on nights when Robert stays out late drinking with colleagues. During their second encounter, Alex reveals to Susanne that his girlfriend was “murdered” and he seeks revenge against her killer. That same night, Robert has a panic attack while out drinking and comes home earlier than expected. Alex is able to hide and sneak out, while Susanne comforts Robert, who finally opens up to her about his guilt over the incident and general self-loathing. He reveals the photograph of Tamara's corpse, which she throws away.

Hausner's health deteriorates, and Alex takes him to a hospital, pledging to stay at his farm and take care of it. One morning a jogging Robert encounters Alex by the pond. Alex questions Robert about the shooting in a veiled conversation, without admitting anything, and asks if he fears reprisal from the dead woman's partner. Robert responds with guilty resignation, but also questions why the robber brought Tamara along unnecessarily, his accusatory tone suggesting he has caught on that Alex was the robber. Robert leaves, and Alex throws his gun in the pond. Susanne reveals to Robert that she believes she is finally pregnant, presumably by Alex. She then visits Alex again, hoping to ensure he will keep their affair a secret. During the visit she sees a photograph of Tamara and realizes Alex's identity. Alex agrees to keep the secret, and expresses no interest in harming Robert as he resumes tending to the farm.

Cast

Production

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 state of Lower Austria.

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.

Filming locations

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

Release

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

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 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. Spielmann saw three other favorites for distinction in this category–Waltz with Bashir, The Class and Everlasting Moments–which apart from the last were also among the nominees.[9]

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'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]

In January 2009 it was announced that Revanche was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[11]

Revanche was placed at 90 on Slant Magazine's best films of the 2000s.[12]

Awards

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

  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. ^ http://www.sommerkinoe.at/?ki=st20080615125529
  4. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1173745/releaseinfo
  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. ^ Nominees & Winners the 81st Academy Awards
  12. ^ "Best of the Aughts: Film". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
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