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Revanche

Universal acclaim
Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Crime | Drama | Romance
Written by: Gotz Spielmann
Directed by: Gotz Spielmann
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 1, 2009
DVD: February 16, 2010
Running Time: 121 minutes, Color
Origin: Austria
Language(s): German | Russian
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Johannes Krisch, and Irina Potapenko
At once a gripping thriller and a tragic drama of nearly Greek proportions, Revanche is the stunning, Oscar–nominated, international breakthrough film from Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. In a ragged section of Vienna, hardened ex-con Alex 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. (Janus Film)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Austrian director Spielmann has long awaited discovery by a wider world, and for my money the gorgeous, brooding, unpredictable neo-noir Revanche is one of the year's best films.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
A little bit of "Crime and Punishment" and a whole lot of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," Revanche, the Austrian candidate for last year's Best Foreign Language Film, is a surprisingly unruffled tale of love, thievery, murder and revenge.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Stan Hall
The film continually explores surprising, rewarding territory; even an erotically charged subplot dovetails nicely with themes of vengeance, mortality and renewal.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Spielmann doesn't move his camera much, but he doesn't have to. The uniformly crackerjack cast keeps things electric, yet always believable, even when behaving in ways that are shocking.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
A darkly compelling film from Austria, can be viewed as either a thriller with psychological overtones or a psychological drama with thriller elements.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Eric Campos
From the film's opening moments you won't be able to guess where the whole thing ultimately ends up and that's one of the many endearing qualities of Revanche.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Spielmann’s deft storytelling is coupled with immaculate compositions that constrain the characters as confidently as any prison bars. Revanche reveals Spielmann as a true master of his craft.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
A slow-burning, character-rich study in desperation, grief, vengeance, loyalty, and love. It's the sort of arthouse entry - in German, mostly - that gets you thinking about an English-language remake.
Read Full Review >St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams
It sustains a palpable fatalism in such recurring details as a whirring buzz saw and the cry of a loon, while the static camera and lack of musical cues enable some unforeseeable plot twists.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Revanche was a foreign-language Oscar nominee this year, and it's a better movie than most of the films in the main race. The word "revanche" means "revenge" in German, but "waiting" would have been just as good.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Revanche involves a rare coming together of a male's criminal nature and a female's deep needs, entwined with a first-rate thriller. It is also perceptive in observing characters, including a proud old man. Rare is the thriller that is more about the reasons of people instead of the needs of the plot.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Revanche has an unusual rhythm: Once it leaves the grotty urban despair behind for the deceptive calm of the countryside, it relaxes and explores the character’s interior lives.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
Revanche is, first and foremost, a good story, craftily told.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Scott Foundas
Revanche gets its hooks into you early and leaves them there.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Mr. Spielmann's film is full of surprises and, in its distinctive way, full of life.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
The coincidences might be too much for some, but viewers who can get past them will be treated to a suspenseful, well-acted, crisply photographed character study.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
The characters and situations are interesting enough, and the filmmaking is sufficiently skilled to provide a measure of reasonably thoughtful entertainment.
Read Full Review >Variety Alissa Simon
In what's essentially a six-hander, the casting is aces. All actors turn in fine, naturalistic perfs, but it would be remiss not to remark on 83-year-old Thanheiser's profoundly moving turn as the grandfather.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Writer-director Gotz Spielmann (Antares) avoids the clutter and manipulation of most thrillers, escalating tension almost solely through the characters' turbulent emotions.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
As long as Revanche focuses on the relationship between Tamara (Irina Potapenko), an indentured Ukrainian prostitute, and Alex (Johannes Krisch), the ex-con gofer and would-be tough guy who wants to help her escape, it's riveting.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Maggie Lee
Hard luck conspires with bad sex in this unspectacular Austrian tale of crime and punishment.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mike Q gave it a4:
A two hour movie with one hour of material. Heavy handed, utterly predictable plotting (except for one effective twist that drew laughter). Very good acting.
