Victoria

Life Through Movies #4

"Why are you here?"
Such a philosophical question doesn’t seem to fit the one asking: a gigantic leather-wearing German bouncer framed by the decadent, dark façade of an abandoned meat factory.

Still pondering on how to answer, my wife beats me to it with her characteristic transparent style:
"We want to have fun".

The bouncer doesn’t even flinch with this touch of latin candidness, and instead retorts: "Who plays tonight?"

My wife and I silently look at each other, and then back up at the bouncer. Unimpressed, she shouts: "WHO PLAYS TONIGHT?"

A long, uncomfortable silence follows.

I answer with my last resort, poker face included:

"We love techno".

The white lie works.
We even get a small chuckle from the Trunchbull bouncer as she opens the door to the dungeon.

We go into the repurposed meat factory with a triumphant feeling.
While in Berlin, we wanted a taste of a more authentic techno club, so we chose Griessmühle. Though clearly this time we hadn’t done our homework.

Notoriously different from traditional clubs, Berlin techno clubs are known for mostly letting in underdressed, local, hardcore techno lovers. Improvisation is also valued, apparently.

We pay our cover and head for the bar.
I get an Erdinger and my wife asks for eine banane.
We're set now.

As we enter the main room, every cell in my body is filled with the low, repetitive bass sounds. I close my eyes while the trance begins.
The first scene of Sebastian Schipper's Victoria plays in my head.
That movie slowly creeps in on you from the start: strobe lights and a growing, repetitive beat in a club, we watch in delight as the protagonist dances herself away.
From there, you go into a trance that literally doesn't stop for more than 2 hours.
The whole movie is recorded in a single take.

Let me repeat that: One. Single. Uninterrupted. 138 Minute. Take.
Long takes are a recourse from directors that can become a gimmick to show off.
In this case, it’s warranted. The story follows the woman for a slice of her night that slowly devolves into an undesirable situation, spanning multiple locations.
Making it a continuous take adds to building tension.

Part heist-movie, part amazing technical achievement, it's a tense movie that takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions.
Your hands will be sweating throughout and you won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen.

Our night at the Griessmühle goes well, we dance 'till the morning.
In Victoria's case, you’ll wish she would’ve just kept dancing too.

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Look Out For:

• The piano scene. Such a peaceful part amid the chaos to follow. Extremely well-executed, even more taking into account they have 42 uninterrupted previous minutes that would have to be redone if they’d messed it up.

• The soundtrack. Made by Nils Frahm, one of my favorite contemporary piano players. He mixes electronic and classical music with a masterful degree

• Fun fact:

  • They had the budget to make 3 complete takes. On the first one the actors were too cautious, on the second one they were too aggressive. After a strong speech from the director Sebastian, they managed to get the right balance on the third and final one, and it is the one we get to see. Phew!