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Revanche

Austria

2008

122 Min
Color
1.85:1
German, Russian
  • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
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DIR Götz Spielmann

PROD Sandra Bohle, Mathias Forberg, Götz Spielmann, Heinz Stussak

SCR Götz Spielmann

DP Martin Gschlacht

CAST Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Ursula Strauss, Andreas Lust, Hannes Thanheiser, Hanno Pöschl

ED Karina Ressler

PROD DES Maria Gruber

SOUND Heinz Ebner

Berlinale (Panorama): C.I.C.A.E. Award, Label Europa Cinemas, Telluride, Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema), London (Cinema Europa), Oldenburg, AFI FEST (World Cinema), Vancouver (Cinema of Our Time)

Synopsis

A gripping thriller and a tragic drama of nearly Greek proportions, Revanche is the stunning, Oscar-nominated international breakthrough of Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. In a ragged section of Vienna, hardened ex-con Alex (the mesmerizing Johannes Krisch) works as an assistant in a brothel, where he falls for Ukrainian hooker Tamara. Their desperate plans for escape unexpectedly intersect with the lives of a rural cop and his seemingly content wife. With meticulous, elegant direction, Spielmann creates a tense, existential, and surprising portrait of vengeance and redemption, and a journey into the darkest forest of human nature, in which violence and beauty exist side by side. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Original

Götz Spielmann

Born in Wels in 1961, grew up in Vienna. Starts writing and directing while still in school. His first film is aired on television in 1978. In 1980 he starts studying screenwriting and directing at the Vienna Film Academy. Two films completed during his studies receive international prizes and are screened at the Stadtkino, an arthouse cinema in Vienna. Spielmann graduates in 1987. Soon afterwards, he writes and directs four cinema and made-for-TV films in succession.

In 1999, after several years of silence, his next feature film The Stranger (Die Fremde) is Austria’s nomination for the Foreign Language Oscar. This is followed by Spiel im Morgengrauen, a made-for-TV movie, and in 2004 the feature Antares.

Antares is shown internationally at more than 30 festivals, and at arthouse theaters in many countries including France, the USA, and Germany. Antares is nominated by Austria to compete for the Foreign Language Oscar. Its explicit sex… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 50 wall posts.
Picture of Amnis

Amnis

19Jan12

A well structured, precious, unconventional crime-drama. A cold, quiet tragedy told with artistry. Visually excellent.

Picture of Michael Harbour

Michael Harbour

3Jan12

Good character-driven crime movie. Looks like it would be really beautiful on film. The theater I saw it at projected digitally and the quality was middling.

Picture of Ben Wheeler

Ben Wheeler

31Dec11

REVANCHE is a bona fide masterpiece. Gotz Spielmann directs with as steady a hand as Kubrick, Bergman & Antonioni. Each frame is a painting & feels fully confident, lying before us exposed to scrutiny. The scenes are precise, yet they breathe. The characters are mythic. They travel across the screen, through an environment that engulfs them, yet they endure. The drama is tense & the catharsis thoroughly fulfilling.

Simon So

23Oct11

. . . . . .

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 439 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

DVDs. "Lola Montès" and More

By David Hudson on February 16, 2010

Lola Montès (1955) is "Max Ophüls's final masterpiece," declares Josef Braun, "mangled upon its initial release, newly restored in all its

read article
W184

Interview with "Revanche" director Götz Spielmann

By Daniel Kasman on April 30, 2009

We had the chance to talk to Revanche writer/director Götz Spielmann in anticipation of the theatrical release of his Oscar-nominated film this

read article
W184

Days of Purgatory: "Revanche" and Webcam Movies

By David Phelps on April 30, 2009

Nice barks pass for bites. Revanche tops a small strand of recent movie maybe best comparable to a series of bricks: a brick wall. The style

read article
Blank

Berlinale 2008: "Revanche" (Spielmann, Austria)

By Daniel Kasman on February 18, 2008

Above: Johannes Krisch (left) and Ursula Strauss (right). Revanche shows just how successfully one can transpose the plot and character based

read article

REVIEW of REVANCHE

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
Austrian director Götz Spielmann’s Revanche was—for me—the unexpected discovery and delight of the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. Its tagline inquiry—"Whose fault is it if life doesn’t go your
read on Twitchfilm.com

Götz Spielmann's REVANCHE DVD Review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
Götz Spielmann’s Revanche is a rather slow but engaging film that uses a revenge plot to examine themes of love, loss, and connectedness.Alex (Johannes Krisch) is an ex-con who works in a Vienna brothel
read on Twitchfilm.com

REVIEW of REVANCHE

By Twitchfilm.net on July 17, 2010
Austrian director Götz Spielmann’s Revanche was—for me—the unexpected discovery and delight of the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. Its tagline inquiry—"Whose fault is it if life doesn’t go your
read on Twitchfilm.net

Götz Spielmann's REVANCHE DVD Review

By Twitchfilm.net on June 19, 2010
Götz Spielmann’s Revanche is a rather slow but engaging film that uses a revenge plot to examine themes of love, loss, and connectedness.Alex (Johannes Krisch) is an ex-con who works in a Vienna brothel
read on Twitchfilm.net

Berlinale 2008: “Revanche” (Spielmann, Austria)

By Daniel Kasman on February 22, 2008
Revanche shows just how successfully one can transpose the plot and character based drama of Hollywood to the refined style of European art-house cinema without hampering it with a sense self-importance
read article

Lists

Displaying 5 of 185 lists.

Reviews

Displaying 4 of 7

Not at all what you expect.

By MisterN​ovember on August 31, 2011

A very powerful, incredibly put together tale of vengeance, guilt and regret. This is a perfect example of how to make a character piece right. Each of the main characters are suffering from guilt…  read review

Revanche

By asuraf on March 21, 2010
Austrian director Gotz Spielmann weaves a mesmerizing tale of chance, regret, redemption, and anger on both sides of the law after a botched robbery leaves a thief seeking revenge and a cop psychologically…

Revanche

By Brennan on March 15, 2010

A wonderful, surprising film. It’s a rare treat these days to genuinely not know where a film is going. Johannes Krisch is great in the lead role, one of those actors whose mere physical presence is…  read review

Untitled

By Andrew Rosinsk​i on August 9, 2009

Götz Spielmann’s Revanche is a dark allegory of the human mental fight — distinctly European; distinctly vanguard — an incisive influx of erotica, existentialism, optimism, pessimism, and, best of…  read review

Forum

Displaying 7 discussion topics.

Revanche and modern recent Austrian/German film

7 posts by 6 people 9 months ago

Predictably American?

3 posts by 3 people almost 2 years ago

35mm, not S16mm as it says in the Criterion booklet

1 post by 1 person almost 2 years ago

Bad trailer?

11 posts by 9 people about 2 years ago

Revanche: I was underwhelmed

3 posts by 2 people about 2 years ago

Submit questions to REVANCHE director Götz Spielmann

27 posts by 19 people almost 3 years ago

Cinematography

1 post by 1 person almost 3 years ago