By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.6
Director: Götz Spielmann
Starring: Andreas Lust | Irina Potapenko | Johannes Krisch | Johannes Thanheiser | Ursula Strauss
Country: austria
Year: 2009
Running time: 121
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1173745/
Jason says: “The Best Foreign Language Film Oscar often drives film nuts crazy. The countries’ film boards don’t submit the movie we consider their nation’s masterpiece for the year, and then at every cut (short list, nominees, winner) we get a little more agitated, wondering how this film which we haven’t heard a single decibel of buzz on makes the cut, and we can’t even see it to form an opinion. At least, not until it sneaks unheralded into a boutique cinema for a week and we say, okay, maybe REVANCHE belonged there.
“REVANCHE was Austria’s submission, and after a brief glimpse at a quietly domestic scene in the country with policeman Robert (Andreas Lust) and his wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss), we’re in Vienna, where ex-con Alex (Johannes Krisch) works at the Cinderella club/brothel, tidying the rooms and keeping the bar stocked. He’s dating one of the more visible employees, Ukranian immigrant Tamara (Irina Potapenko). Alex isn’t really a bad guy; he rides out to his grandfather Hausner’s farm on his days off to cut the old man’s firewood. When Cinderella’s ‘manager’ Konecny (Hanno Poschl) starts pressuring her to leave the club and into an apartment he’d rent for her, Alex decides to push their plan to move to Spain forward. That takes money, though Alex has a plan for that, one that just can’t fail.
“Let’s stop there, because that brings us up to the point where everything changes. Writer/director Götz Spielmann doesn’t so much throw a plot twist our way as allow a scene we’ve seen hundreds of times to play out realistically, and then track the aftermath of it. The movie slows down for this, pushing one set of subplots aside for another, but for the most part this works. One development seems kind of arbitrary and forced, but most of the rest seems natural. The second half of the movie becomes much more somber when we realize that we haven’t heard from this character in a while, so maybe Alex and Tamara just aren’t as important as a movie would generally make them. The pressures on the characters in the second half are internal and self-inflicted, rather than the result of outside pressure.
“The cast handles that wonderfully. Johannes Krisch and Irina Potapenko have a chemistry that is passionate but private; they’ve each come to an understanding of what is and isn’t safe in the quasi-legal world they live in. Krisch manages to infuse a little more optimism into his character despite his being worn-down by years and jail time, while Potapenko manages to communicate a pragmatic intelligence despite speaking imperfect German, if the subtitles are a proper guide. Andreas Lust and Ursula Strauss give us a couple that is a bit more strained; they’re in a newly-completed house with a nursery that was completed before Susi miscarried in her third month of pregnancy, but going through the motions of their life. Lust does a fine job of playing Robert as a proud cop who feels unmanned, and Strauss gives perhaps the best in a film full of fine performances as the wife who finds a certain amount of happiness opening up to her elderly neighbor. Hannes Thanheiser has a nice bead on that old farmer, too, playing Hausner’s pride and physical fragility in a believable balance, giving him enough individuality that he’s always ‘Hausner,’ rather than just ‘the old man.’
“As impressive as Spielmann’s story and cast is, though, what impressed me the most was how he put the movie together. The lovemaking scenes of the movie’s various couples establish their relationships and the tone of that section of the film, for instance, and I think it’s actually a while before we learn Tamara’s actual name (she’s referred to as ‘Angel’ often enough that we don’t realize it’s her ‘work name’ until Alex calls her something else, cementing that he is not like the other men in her life). The pacing he and editor Karina Ressler establish is impressive; this is a two hour movie whose second half is filled with more introspection than activity that almost never seems to drag. Spielmann, Ressler, and cinematographer Marti Gschlacht also put on a clinic on how to establish the details of a location when the action of a scene may depend on that information. The photography itself is striking and put to good use; I’m a little bit in awe of a crucial shot where the play of light across a lake’s surface seems to further bury something that has been thrown in.
“I saw REVANCHE a bit by accident; the theater was in the direction I felt like walking that afternoon and I was actively avoiding the other film playing there. It’s a thoroughly impressive film, well deserving of the bit of attention its nomination has given it here, and then some. 4 1/2 cats”
Diane says: “A death binds two couples together, one in the city, one in the country, in this Austrian film written and directed by Gotz Spielmann. Noms coming for Best Movie, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress (Ursula Strauss), and Best Supporting Actor (Johannes Thanheiser) . Great sound, too. Complex, creative, suspenseful, pitch perfect. 5 cats.”
Bruce says: “After seeing the disappointing Austrian Oscar winner THE COUNTERFEITERS, it is a special treat to encounter REVANCHE, a film from an altogether different school of filmmaking. REVANCHE is a strange hybrid of thriller, film noir, and morality tale. Most of the time the film is not what it appears which leads to surprise and marvelous contrast. It probes the depth of human frailty, decency and kindness. It toys with how perspective shapes events and emerges from them as well. Götz Speilmann’s straightforward direction is in perfect counterpoint to confusion caused by the strange thematic blend.
“Alex (Johannes Krisch) is an ex-con who works as a handyman/chauffer/gofer in a seedy Vienna whorehouse. Konecny (Hanno Pöschl) the owner prefers the term ‘brothel.’ Alex is involved with Tamara (Irina Potapenko), a Ukrainian who is one of the most popular girls. In a frank tete-a-tete Konecny tells Alex that he is too soft, saying ‘You want to be tough but you’re not.’ Konecny has his eye on Tamara. ‘I want to talk to you in private. Your place, tomorrow afternoon. Don’t tell the other girls.’ The next day Tamara hears that her boss wants to set her up in a luxury apartment where she would entertain his ‘big’ friends – politicians and officials. Such isolation would carry considerable risk.
“Tamara refuses the offer. Alex senses that she could be in danger and convinces her to run off with him. Their most pressing problem is a lack of funds. Stealing a BMW, Alex decides to rob a small town bank near his grandfather’s farm. Shortly after the robbery there is a killing. Robert (Andreas Lust) a local policeman is the man who fires the fatal bullet. His guilt overwhelms him to the extent he can no longer function at his job. Robert and his wife Suzanne (Ursula Strauss) are already having difficulties starting a family. His severe depression does not give him much of a boost in the bedroom.
“Alex surprises Grandfather Hausner (Hannes Thanheiser) and offers to spend some time helping the old man with chores around the farm. He chops wood with the utmost precision and helps with the daily chores. Suzanne and Robert live nearby and Suzanne has taken the role of looking after Grandfather Hausner. Alex does not want nosey neighbors around. In spite of his efforts to keep to himself, Alex discovers that separatism is not a recognized concept in such a small community. He is unprepared for the pretzel-like turn of events.
“At times it is impossible not to be at the edge of your seat. Contributing to the success of the film is the exceptional editing. The acting in REVANCHE is particularly strong, the standouts being Johannes Krisch and Ursula Strauss who deliver memorable performances. 4.5 cats”