Reviews

"Victoria" is a movie about the young Spanish girl, Victoria, played by the no-name actress Laia Costa from Spain, who has been in Germany for only a few months. At one night she's dancing in a club and as she decides to go home, she's meeting a group of young drunken Berliner, which more and more appear addicted to criminal activities. The next two hours runtime are telling what Victoria experiences with this group within the next two hours in the streets of Berlin. And so the ball starts rolling...

As the film starts, Victoria is dancing in the flashlights of a discotheque in Berlin at night and I already thought, that this could be another very long Arthaus-film, which would start to bore me from now on...but instead of confirming my first impression, the film fortunately fascinated me. And here's why:

First of all the most important thing - because it's so enormous relevant in this particular subject for this flick to work - the cinematography respectively the cameraman, Sturla Brandth Grøvlen. His camera work is extraordinary. The fact that he's filming nearly 140 minutes straight is remarkable in itself, but that he's also accomplishing to make the camera seem like an own acting person, who is part of these events, feels with the characters and sometimes is even "scared", too, is absolutely magnificent and helps by dragging the audience into the movie. Further I want to consider that Berlin looks gorgeous in the early morning hours.

That leads me to my second point, that the film feels so incredible realistic caused by its great acting - especially Laia Costa and Frederick Lau have got a splendid chemistry - and its way of telling an heist-story. In one particular scene, we're not seeing the heist per se, but Victoria waiting in the car for her friends coming back. So this flick shows another and much deeper perspective into the essence of robbing a bank. The camera always stays at Laia Costa's character, Victoria, so the viewer is forced setting up a closer emotional relationship to her, what clearly pays off in the third act, when there's a terrific emotional outburst by Laia Costa, who well- deserved won "Best Actress" at the German Film Awards.

There's also a great climactic structure in the movie and you won't believe what crazy things can happen in only 2 1/2 hours. All the other characters are also very well played and they're much more worth mentioning considering that the most parts have been improvised by the actors. The not so good English language also helps by raising the realism and makes it much easier for the viewer to identify with Victoria, Sonne, Boxer, Blinker and Fuß. Every character gives another essence to the movie, without that this flick wouldn't have worked so well.

After leaving the cinema I still was very excited and that's always a very good sign for me because it shows how the film has infected me. With a bit of distance I have to admit that "Victoria" might be my favorite film of 2015 and also being one of my Top 10-movies of all time.

Thank you, Sebastian Schipper, for bringing your idea to life.

I watched this movie for two reasons - because of its controversy and medial attention. Honestly I didn't expect that much, I thought this might be another of these throughout bad and silly satires, that we're forced to see all over the year...but now, after I watched it, I can say that it's better than I thought it would be.

First of all I have to admit that some of heard dialogues are corky, filled with stylistic devises and also have clever allusions - in short clever and simply interesting. The puns are of course sick and the allusions to the "Lord of the Rings"-franchise crazy, but under those circumstances that this flick is subject to it's funny.

This flick is also playing with the prejudices, we have on North Korea, quite well. If they're right or wrong, we shouldn't decide on the facts, we are seeing in the movie because it's A MOVIE - FICTION. So I also do not understand, why North Korea is annoyed by an political satire. Every person in politics and public has to deal with parodies and satires.

So in my subjective opinion 7 out of 10 with a hint that I can understand, why people say it's too childish and silly for them.

Excuse me for my not so good English.

In 2013/2014 the significance of the topic "burnout syndrome" and "depression" is reliable. More and more people getting trapped in their negative and tired spirit. So you can say that the movie "Side Effects" deals with a very relevant subject.

Emily Taylor, played by Rooney Mara, gets into mental illness, after her boyfriend, who had been accused for embezzlement, got caught by the police. She's unsatisfied with everything, so she decides consulting a psychiatrist, portrayed by Jude Law, who tries to fix her problems with different medications - and the ball starts rolling.

The portrayal of Emily by Ms. Mara is absolutely authentic because she's playing both sides of her bilateral character - the sick and the calculated one - very well. Jude Law also plays his character, who is struggling with the balance between his family and job, well.

This flick manages to connect some topics to each other, which you couldn't have imagined so easily - pharmacy connected to psychology, oh well easy - but connecting it to law, crime and trading is much more challenging. But the movie succeeds.

Its score also helps to create creepy moments in this some sort of thriller and its cinematography also wants to thrill us sometimes. The film also has twists in it and shows character develop on its finest by filling in some pretty dialogues.

So why 7 out of 10 only? I have to admit that's almost an 8, but in my opinion the movie doesn't manage to touch emotions like a drama should do besides it doesn't thrill me like a real thriller. Vacillation in genres normally not bother me, but here it ironically does.

Enough of criticizing. This movie is very recommendable for people, which want to deal with an important topic like "depression" and "mental illness" and which like a good story with an hint of art- house.

Excuse me for my not so good English.

For some reason I felt like living on the wrong place on earth, after I had watched this awesome movie. Woody Allen, who is far away from being my favorite director, has created here an unconventional love story that might not gets under your skin all the time, but teaches some good lessons about love and its diversity.

The main cast makes a fantastic job. The trio, consisting out of Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall and Penélope Cruz, who has also won an Oscar for her role in this flick, is absolutely lovely as a group of rival women. Javier Bardem, who has already proofed that he is a great actor in "No Country for Old Men", gives us an extroverted Spanish artist, who enjoys spending his lifetime with various women.

The beautiful shots of Barcelona and its countryside and the perfectly chosen music create an intense feeling of traveling to Spain again.

The dialogues are diversifiedly written and filled with comedic nuances that makes the film at any moment diverting. Allen also dares to use a lot of Spanish dialogues in here, so the movie is getting more authentic.

Compared with all the best films in this world, it might be not outstanding, but absolutely unique in its message about love and creative way of introducing a country.

So if you are searching for a light entertainment, I would necessarily recommend "Vicky Cristina Barcelona".

Excuse me for my not so good English.