A shot to remember
Victoria could have been one of those typical festival darlings because of the way it was shot but the first success of it is, it just doesn’t end up being only a festival darling but also works as a standalone movie, with or without the employment of the single take. Thanks to the highly entertaining actor, a great premise, which was made believable because we could empathize with the actors and of course a good camera and editing technique. ‘Victoria’ keeps us glued to our seats, in the league of ‘Run Lola Run’ and it’s a miracle that this film works like a fast paced jump cut type of films.
The film opens with Vicotria (Laia Costa) partying in a club solo. Her lively nature is revealed right from the scene one when she makes small talks with the bartender. She can be defined as one happy woman. The scene is an extended one. As I was not aware that it was a single shot film, I was impressed by the long take and was internally appreciating the director to have taken time off and setting the mood of the film. Single shot or not, the club sequence deserves a credit for the way it was made.
Right from scene one, there is a sense of tension. That only gets incremented when she’s called upon by one of the guy in the club and a group of men outside. I was praying that she shouldn’t be kidnapped and raped. The way the film was going, it felt like that, thanks to every other film which made us think so. Anyways the tension was palpable. The film took its own sweet time to establish the relationship between Victoria and the gang. Till the time they go the terrace and one the guys called out, “sister… sister…” to make her stop shouting, the situation was tense. Post that it felt as if she was going to give them needless trouble instead of them giving the trouble. Those moments of uncertainty was beautiful.
Victoria develops feelings for Sonne (Frederick Lau) in the midst of all the chaos. From tension, the mood changes to romantic when they take a bicycle ride to her café. When there is a cue that it was going to be sex scene there, it then jumps into something melancholic, thanks to the Piano. Isn’t it beautiful, how music was employed in a single shot and it needs to be appreciated because of the how difficult it is actually to blend it in cinema. One foot wrong and the entire film would collapse. Plus it gave a kind of ‘Before Sunset’ meeting ‘Whiplash’ feel. Inspiring as well as depressing. As it was a deep conversation involving music, I was moved.
Till this point, the film does a fine job. The difficult and unrealistic part starts post this, where it becomes a heist film. Victoria joins the gang of men including Sonne, Boxer (Franz Rogowski) and Blinker (Burak Yiğit) because Fuß (Max Mauff) for a bank robbery. It’s a scene which shouldn’t have worked but the actors, especially Laia Costa does a fabulous job in making us believe that she really wants to be part of them. May be the music scene too became a precursor for us to understand that she was depressed in life and wants to be of something productive and thus joined them.
The best part of the film was the club scene post that where we don’t get to hear the real music but witness the jubilation of all the characters. But we know for sure that it’s not going to be a happy ending in the end. The tension keeps us on hooks through the club scene where we tend to feel that they are getting overboard.
The chase and the killings in the end, just feels an eventual and unavoidable thing. It largely didn’t work or may be by that time we’re all deeply in love with the characters so we don’t want them to disappear. Anyways the film wasn’t entirely spoilt, thanks to a superb long shot.
constantscribbles 