User Reviews

No need to recap the plot as so many of you have already done so. What was interesting to me, along with the excellence of the photography, great naturalistic acting, lack of portentous music (what a relief), was the psychological portrayal of guilt. Who felt guilt for their actions, who did not. Obviously the piggy brothel owner felt none. The policeman was painfully racked by guilt...his panic attack was brilliant, the best I have seen portrayed in a movie. Then, the scene by the pond when the guilt was transferred to Alex was intensely moving, I thought. Even though Alex had tried to dissuade Tamara from joining him on the bank job, he was clearly shaken by Alex's unknowing accusation.

Susanne's character was also nuanced — someone who was a rescuer (in a good way), her attempts to protect her husband while also getting what she wanted, were compelling.

This, for me, has been one of the better movies of the year. Highly recommended.

For the first half hour of Revanche, I expected something quite different than how it turned out. Initially, the movie reminded me of a Fassbinder film with corrupt and unsavory characters scheming against each other. The scheming ends with a decision by Alex (Johannes Krisch), a middle-aged janitor and go-for at a Vienna brothel, to rob a bank in order to pay off the debts of his girlfriend Tamara (Irina Potapenko), a Ukrainian prostitute. The robbery goes bad in an unexpected way, with a policeman shooting at the escape vehicle and accidentally killing Tamara. Alex drives the car to the countryside and abandons it near his grandfather's old and dilapidated farm.

Alex moves in with his grandfather (Johannes Thanheiser) and spends his days cutting and chopping wood for fuel. Repeatedly, we see his powerful arms pushing logs against a large, circular power saw. His becomes obsessed with work in an effort to overcome the overwhelming anguish and guilt he feels as a result of his girlfriend's death. Alex tries to become an entirely physical person and is sullen and inarticulate in his dealings with others. Other people, however, refuse to go away. A married woman, who lives nearby, Susanne (Ursula Strauss), visits the grandfather, encourages him to play his accordion, and accompanies him to church.

Now things begin to fall into place, from the perspective of the viewer though not initially from that of the characters. To some extent, director Götz Spielman's approach is similar to that of Atom Egoyan's. Susanne's husband, Robert (Andreas Lust), is the policeman who accidentally shot and killed Tamara. He and Susanne want to have children but she is unable to get pregnant due to his limitations. He is as distraught as Alex over Tamara's death and does not understand how he could have shot through the car's rear window when he aimed at the tires.

Without wanting to be, Alex is brought into contact with both Susanne and Robert and gradually reveals his situation to them. Susanne invites him over for sex when her husband is at work, perhaps hoping that his physical vitality will enable her to conceive. There are explicit, though not pornographic, sex scenes, both between Alex and Susanne on a kitchen table and, earlier in the film and more sweetly, between Alex and Tamara in a shower. Alex also encounters Robert as he goes for his daily run and realizes that the policeman is as upset as he is about Tamara's death. Susanne gets pregnant from Alex and swears him to secrecy. Life goes on. "Revanche" assumes it meaning, in German, of second chance as well as revenge.

This summary does not do justice to the consistent excellence of the film's acting and direction. All of the roles are played in ways that are both believable and continuously revealing. Although there are superficial similarities between Revanche and noir films of the forties and fifties, their points of view are very different. In Revanche, we see and feel the devastating impact a killing has on essentially decent people.

A love in the underworld between Russian prostitute Tamara (Irina Potapenko) and bordello body-guard Alex (Johannes Krisch) leads them to embrace the perspective of escape from the harsh realities of debts owed to crime bosses. The solution to their worries is a bank heist, during which Tamara dies after being fatally wounded by a stray bullet from police officer Robert (Andreas Lust). Engrieved Alex hides out at his grandfather's (Johannes Thanheiser) farm, where he spends his days chopping wood for the winter. However grief turns to concepts of vengeance, when it turns out that Robert and his wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss) are neighbours.

Starting off from a seedy, hopeless love affair, after a few scenes certainty of an emotional train-ride becomes evident. As the story unfolds and takes various turns, moral dilemmas take the forefront, as death, sorrow, remorse and regret construe a fascinating psychological story, where revenge isn't limited to a simple pulling of the trigger lacking forethought. As Alex, Robert and Susanne interact questions raised reach satisfying, if uneasy, conclusions, as a full circle is reached, making this one of the most poignant movies on the question of revenge, much detached from the typical Hollywood or Hong Kong take on the matter.

The story has a unmistakable natural flow (partly owed to the settings and the camera-work), as happenings build the story without effort or forced connections. As if to underline this music score is done away with, only the noise of the streets and background of nature fill the space between infrequent dialogues. All this allows Götz Spielmann to deliver a focused, straight story without visual distractions or voyages into the supposed 'darkness' of the human heart.

The most striking thing about 'Revanche' is that the first half is so completely different than the second half. The story is set in modern-day Austria where the protagonist, Alex, is working maintenance in a brothel and is in a relationship with Tamara, one of the prostitutes there who hails from Ukraine. The opening scene between the 'couple' features a somewhat explicit sexual encounter (there are other such steamy sexual encounters later on in the film). Be forewarned—there are no subtitles in the first two minutes of the film as Tamara is presumably speaking in her native Ukrainian and we're not supposed to understand what she's saying.

Up to the midpoint of the film, we're treated to a gritty, behind-the-scenes look at the Austrian underworld. Tamara owes her boss, Konecny, $30,000 (presumably for arranging her passage to Austria). Tamara is Konecny's 'favorite' at the brothel and wants her to move into one of his own apartments where she can service more upper-class VIP customers. Meanwhile Alex dreams of buying into a pal's business but is significantly short of the $80,000 needed as a start-up cost. When one of the customers roughs up Tamara, Alex intercedes and beats the man up. Realizing his days are numbered at the brothel, he spirits Tamara out of he house of ill repute to a seedy hotel where he decides his only solution to the financial mess they're both in, is to rob a bank.

The midpoint of the film is perhaps the strongest. Alex successfully sticks up the bank, but a police officer (Robert) just happens to come along and questions Tamara who's sitting in the getaway car. When Alex returns to the car and sees Robert, he pulls out his unloaded firearm and has the officer lie down on the ground. As Alex drives away with Tamara in the passenger seat, Robert violates police procedures and fires at the wheels of the car; unfortunately his aim isn't very good, and Tamara is hit by one of the bullets and is killed. Robert leaves Tamara's body inside the car and abandons it in a forest.

The second half of the movie is much more slow-paced than the first. After Alex takes refuge at grandfather Hausner's farm, he settles in performing various chores for the sickly old codger. He steams inside over Tamara's death and blames it on Robert. There are way too many repetitious scenes of Alex chopping wood, symbolizing his pent-up rage. Coincidentally, Robert's wife, Susanne, a cashier at the local supermarket, has befriended Alex's grandfather and often comes over to keep him company. Alex is extremely cold to Susanne (since she happens to be married to the man who killed his girlfriend). Susanne has had a recent miscarriage and has been having trouble getting pregnant; perhaps, this is one factor why she decides to have an affair with Alex. Another may be that she is attracted to 'bad boys'.

The climax of the film isn't very exciting but it's a relief. Alex learns that Robert takes a jog in the woods every morning and plans to shoot him. One day he aims his gun at Robert but presumably decides to talk to him first. When they do have their conversation, he realizes that Robert is extremely remorseful concerning what happened (it should be noted also that Robert was suspended by the police force as 'unfit for duty' and ordered to see a psychologist). Robert's parting words in which he asks why the bank robber decided to involve his girlfriend in the heist, makes Alex realize that it was he who really was responsible for his girlfriend's death. He redeems himself by throwing his gun into the lake and promises Susanne that he'll never tell anyone of their affair. In turn, he confesses to Susanne that he was the bank robber and presumably their secret is safe with him.

While I was disappointed that Revanche did not have a slam-bang twist ending, I was relieved at the same time that Alex did not resort to the ugly act of killing Robert. Certainly a story about an immoral person taking responsibility for his actions and thus redeeming himself in the end is admirable. However, director/writer Gotz Spiellman engages in a strategy of moral relativism to tell his story. In effect, Spiellman is saying that 'we're all human and we all make mistakes'. In Spiellman's world, people make bad decisions: Alex concocts the robbery, Tamara goes along with it, Robert fires at a vehicle moving away from him, in violation of procedures and Susanne commits adultery by having an affair. But Alex's actions are placed on the same level as Susanne despite the fact that he's committed a crime. Even though he robbed the bank without his gun being loaded, he still terrorized the bank teller and the customers inside the bank. He should be held accountable but the mere act of showing remorse is enough for Spiellman to forgive him. I am, however, not as forgiving of the character as its creator. Spiellman 'forgives' Susanne too for her 'transgression' and rewards her by having her get pregnant. But again, Susanne's indiscretion is just that—an indiscretion! Alex's 'misstep' is a crime! A better ending would have been to have Alex turn himself in.

There are some excellent performances here, particularly Ursula Strauss as Susanne, whose misguided attraction should be a cautionary tale to all those women attracted to 'bad boys'. If you're willing to put up with the slow-paced second half, Revanche is well worth watching. On the other hand, don't expect a masterpiece. Revanche gets a little too cozy with the idea that redemption is for just about everybody. Redemption is only acceptable when it's coupled with both remorse and accountability. By giving Alex a 'free pass' at the denouement, the film's scenarist misses an opportunity to make a true and impassioned moral stand.

First of all, bravo to Qantas Airline for carrying this film gem among their on-board entertainment selections! I never would have thought I would see this 2009 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film on a plane.

"Revanche" is an Austrian movie, though it could have been made anywhere else. I did not really see any scenery that made it look like Austria at all. It is basically about four people: from the city, an Ukranian prostitute Tamara (Irina Potapenko) and her thug boyfriend Alex (Johannes Krische), and in the countryside, an honest cop Robert (Andreas Lust) and his friendly wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss). Unusual circumstances intertwine and complicate the lives of these two couples in crime, death, guilt, and as the title says, revenge.

The best aspect of this film is its very well-developed script, at least for the last two-thirds of the film. The first one-third building up the relationship of Tamara and Alex was too long and slow (and even unnecessary). But when the time comes that Alex hatches his scheme to get the money they need to make their getaway, the film gains its necessary accelerating momentum to the very end.

For all its merits as a drama, this may not be a film for everyone. There are some graphic scenes and dialog as expected with a film that dealt with prostitutes. There are many slow repetitive scenes of Alex and his ailing dad, with so many scenes of Alex chopping wood or the dad playing the accordion which can test your patience to watch. As is typical with a lot of European films, the actual resolution of the entire problematic situation is left to the audience, but I felt that it was still the best way to end.

"Revanche" is a German-language movie from 7 years ago and, together with "Antares", the most known work by Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. This one was Oscar-nominated in the Foreign Language Film category, but lost out to the Japanese entry. "Revanche" runs for over 2 hours and this is maybe also the movie's biggest problem. While it is extraordinarily tense and gripping, the film also has a couple sequences where it does drag in my opinion. I am basically referring to parts before the botched bank robbery here. 50 minutes or so was simply too long for the character presentation part in my opinion. As much as I liked looking at the stunning Irina Potapenko, they certainly could have kept these sequences at 30 minutes max and, consequently, the film at 100 minutes.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the acting here: Krisch, Lust, Strauss, the aforementioned Potapenko and Thanheiser delivered from start to finish, even if Thanheiser's character did not really add that much to me for the movie. It sucks a bit to see that Krisch did not really manage a career in known films other than this one (and maybe the pretty bad "Vergiss mein Ich" from last year) as he carries this film here nicely from start to finish and creates a truly interesting character. In terms of Lust, you may want to check out the very good "The Robber".

"Revanche" is a lot about masculinity for Krisch's and Lust's character, but also as a consequence for Potapenko's and Strauss'. There is one scene early on when we hear that the main character is not tough enough and this definitely influenced his decision to rob the bank and has him play with a gun in the presence of his girlfriend right after to prove to himself how tough he is. On the other hand, Lust struggles with being too serious while still having a massive ego and the fact that he just does not seem manly enough to get his girlfriend pregnant. We hear on one occasion that it's his fault probably. This impotence may also have to do with the woman's cheating. Krisch's character initially plans a much more brutal revenge, but he won't go through with it, maybe another example that he simply is not a tough guy. Instead, he (almost unintentionally) chooses a less violent path by hurting the police officer emotionally. And the final talk between the two men on the park bench basically destroys his plan completely when he sees how Lust's character suffers from the shooting. He doesn't mind if the boyfriend comes for him, he aimed for the tires etc. He may not have lost a loved one, but he suffers almost the same as Krisch's character, emotionally and professionally.

"Revanche" is not among my top5 favorite non English films from 2008, but I still recommend the watch. The robbery scene is absolutely edge-of-the-seat stuff and one of the best movie moments of 2008 when the two men run into each other. Unfortunately, there are not many more truly outstanding scenes and even if Spielmann elaborates convincingly on the characters' reactions and emotional states, it sometimes feels that the film is just dragging on. This is by no means a bad film, but it's also not as good as it could have been.

There are a lot of "second chances" in this Oscar nominated film.

Alex (Johannes Krisch) wants to give Tamara (Irina Potapenko) a second chance to escape her life of prostitution. He wants a second chance after being released from jail and robs a bank to get it. He also wants a second chance with his father (Johannes Thanheiser).

Unfortunately, life is what happens when you are making other plans, and the encounter with the policeman Robert (Andreas Lust) ruins Alex's plans.

Revanche also means "revenge." You can see the slow burning of Alex as he broods over the loss of Tamara. Circumstance has it that his father lives right next door to the policemen. Even when the policeman's wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss) tries to get intimate with him, he has sex, but treats her like dirt.

What Alex doesn't realize until he and Robert meet is that Robert is grieving as much as he is. He shot Tamara by accident and is aching over her death.

There was some outstanding acting by all the characters in this film. It really was worthy of the Academy Award. Too bad it had to go up against Okuribito.