Revanche Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: Revanche
Year: 2008
Director: Gotz Spielmann
Country: Austria
Language: German

Perhaps the modern film audience has too much of a pessimistic view on 21st Century film. I've heard many casual film-goers and Cinephiles alike claim that today's movies don't hold a candle compared to the pictures of the 60's, 70's and even 80's. The Godfather (1972) will always be held in higher regard than gangster/political films like Olivier Assayas' Carlos (2010). Despite a mass nostalgic love for old Cinema, there is no doubt that masterpieces can still be made. We have seen this in Aki Kaurismaki's Le Havre (2011), Abbas Kiarosami's Certified Copy (2010) and the film that is currently being reviewed, Gotz Spielmann's Revanche (2008).

In the film ex-con Alex (Johannes Krisch) dreams about starting a new life with the Ukrainian prostitute Tamara (Irina Potapenko). To do so, he wants to rob a bank erasing debts and making the flight towards the South possible, but Tamara is unintentionally shot on the escape by the coincidentally present policeman, Robert (Andreas Lust) . Alex flees to the farm of his grandfather and learns that Robert lives close by thoughts of revenge start to arise.

In the hands of almost any other Director Revanche would be a heroin induced mindless action movie where far too many people die as a result of Alex becoming a mass murderer. However Gotz Spielmann handles the film and its characters with utmost care and precision. Revanche, meaning both "Revenge" and "second chance", is a tight thriller as well as a drama about human morals. The plot is built upon coincidence, but never seems forced or too absurd to be believable. Intricate and detailed, every scene of this revenge melodrama will make you more curious to exactly how this picture will end.

In Revanche there are no heroes, anti-heroes or villains, there are only complicated humans, each with their own inner thoughts. The Direction of the film is marvelous, as is the acting. The dialogue is fitting for characters who cannot escape their grim circumstances. Essentially Spielmann's tragedy is about the nature of grief and revenge. Alex spends most of the film trying to murder Robert, but would the death of the policeman bring back his dead wife? Should the blame entirely be put on Robert's shoulders? It's a slower paced film, but ultimately very satisfying.

In conclusion, Gotz Spielmann's Revanche is a modern masterpiece that unfortunately lost the "Best Foreign Language" Oscar to a lesser Japanese film called Departures at the 2008 Academy Awards. This picture is filled with thought provoking themes, and will have you thinking about each character long after the end credits. Praise it! 5/5