Revanche
Directed by Götz Spielmann
Studio: Criterion
Year: 2008
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 122 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 German
Subtitles: English
MSRP: $ 39.95
Release Date: February 16, 2010
Review Date: February 9, 2010
The Film
4/5
Götz Spielmann’s Revanche is a mood piece on the restorative power of nature on hearts broken, empty, or raging. It’s a quiet film, surprising since there are sex scenes, a shooting, and enough angst to fill a decent sized stadium. Despite those qualities, it’s the silence and that unbearable anticipation of what’s to come that hold our attention. The film takes its time getting where it wants to go (perhaps too much time; it could have been just as effective with a quarter hour trimmed), but the result is worth the ride. Nature has the last word.
[SPOILER WARNING: The following paragraph contains information about unexpected elements in the story. If you don't want to be spoiled, skip this paragraph and proceed afterward.]
[SPOILER WARNING: The following paragraph contains information about unexpected elements in the story. If you don't want to be spoiled, skip this paragraph and proceed afterward.]
After stage managing his prostitute girlfriend Tamara (Irina Potapenko)’s escape from the hotel where she’s basically held captive between shifts at the brothel, mob handyman Alex (Johannes Krisch) commits a daylight bank robbery stealing 50,000 euros on his way out of town. Unluckily, a local policeman (Andreas Lust) in attempting to shoot out the tires of the escaping robber’s vehicle accidentally hits Tamara killing her instantly. Alex ditches the car and holds up at his grandfather (Hannes Thanheiser)’s farm doing the heavy lifting chores the old man is no longer able to do himself. Coincidentally, the policeman who shot his girlfriend and his wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss) are friends of the old man, and she especially spends lots of time at the farm keeping the old man company and now making the acquaintance of his grandson who’s taking his time thinking about how he wants his retribution for Tamara’s death to play itself out.
Götz Spielmann’s script is not filled with words. Rather, he lets the camera do the talking in a very quiet, deliberate way of shooting most of the scenes without a lot of movement. (When the camera does move, it’s a jolt and always for a definite purpose – a tracking shot as Alex takes aim on the innocently jogging policeman, for example.) The natural world of the glassy lakes, the early morning fog-shrouded orchards, or the thick woods which provide a natural cover as Alex spies on his prey is paramount in the director’s thoughts and its prominence helps one understand what the director is going for – a hatred, an animosity burned out of Alex’s heart by his immersion in these glorious natural surroundings. The early scenes in Vienna have a nervous chic to them, from sex scenes to street hustling, director Spielmann isn’t afraid to get down and dirty when it’s required. (He also films a later sex scene entirely in silhouette, one of the more evocative such scenes in recent cinema.)
Johannes Krisch has something of the same quiet authority that Viggo Mortensen brings to his screen work, and his transformation throughout the film is impressive. Andreas Lust as the confident policeman reduced to a guilt-ridden wreck as he struggles with this accidental shooting makes his own transformation real and poignant. Ursula Strauss and Irina Potapenko give light to the women in their lives. Hannes Thanheiser’s wise grandfather is an unclichéd reading of an elderly life and quite touching, especially when he rediscovers his delight at playing the accordion again.
Video Quality
4/5
The film’s 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio is presented in a transfer that’s anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. Colors have been desaturated a bit in the film, possibly stressing the hazy, bucolic nature of the surroundings, and contrast is also not cranked up especially high resulting in an image that’s clear and clean but not notably eye-popping. Sharpness is not always first-rate but is nevertheless adequate. Black levels are quite good. The white English subtitles are very easy to read. The film has been divided into 22 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is very subdued. There are ambient sounds in the soundfield: you’ll hear birds chirping and distant thunder and rain occasionally (especially noticeable during the end credits). But apart from actor Hannes Thanheiser’s accordion playing or music in the brothel, there is no background music track, so the surrounds support the film in a very subtle but effective way.
Special Features
3.5/5
The first disc contains the film and the theatrical trailer which runs for 1 ½ minutes and is in anamorphic widescreen.
The second disc contains the remaining bonus content.
Director Götz Spielmann speaks for 35 ½ minutes in this 2009 anamorphically enhanced interview. He discusses his philosophy of working in the cinema, his love of nature which is imparted so clearly in the film, and his abhorrence of clichés in writing and shooting his movies.
“The Making of Revanche” is a 36 ¼-minute featurette showing the director working with the actors in staging, rehearsing, and shooting specific scenes along with working with his cinematographer to get the precise shots he wants. The leading actors also speak on camera about their own preparations for the film and their experiences of working with Spielmann. It’s in anamorphic widescreen.
“Foreign Land” is the director’s first student film shot in 1984 showing much of the same style and emphasis on nature that he brought to Revanche. It runs 44 ¾ minutes in 4:3. There is also an optional director’s introduction to the film which runs 3 ½ minutes in anamorphic widescreen.
The enclosed 10-page booklet contains cast and crew lists, some color frames of nature from the movie, and an examination into the director’s approach to filmmaking written by film critic Armond White.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
Serene but filled with thought-provoking human interaction and some genuine tension, Götz Spielmann’s Revanche has some of the same sparseness of dialogue and long camera shots that are reminiscent of Michelangelo Antonioni’s finest work. Interesting bonus material introduce this rising director to a worldwide audience with a DVD set I can certainly recommend.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
