Revanche Image
Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 18 Ratings

  • Summary: 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 fallalls 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) Collapse
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 22
  2. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. An extraordinary film, mythic in feeling.
  2. 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.
  3. Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    80
    Revanche gets its hooks into you early and leaves them there.
  4. Reviewed by: Maggie Lee
    50
    Hard luck conspires with bad sex in this unspectacular Austrian tale of crime and punishment.

See all 22 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. NateK
    10
    A stunner. I saw this film in theaters on a whim last year and it has stuck with me ever since. A masterpiece in mood and atmosphere, this slow burning neo-noir is propelled entirely by the turbulent emotions of our anti-hero. My only reservation is that the film frequently subverts expectations, which may frustrate casual film viewers. The movie frequently escalates towards violence, only to retreat again. If this doesn't sound like it would bother you, see this immediately! I can't get it out of my head. Expand
  2. TimH
    8
    Effective and poignant tale about regret.
  3. MarkP
    7
    Frankly I wasn't as impressed as many reviewers. It seemed to me a typical example of depressed Austrian nihilism. Wim Wenders or Werner Herzog never would have made a film this glum. Expand
  4. MikeQ
    4
    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. Expand

See all 9 User Reviews