Victoria

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Sebastian Schipper/Starring: Laia Costa, Frederick Lau, Franz Rogowski and Burak Yigit

One of the features of the German film Victoria is its done-in-one-take process. Though a technical accomplishment, the exciting narrative approach seems more like a gimmick the further we are led into the story. Shot-in-real-time with a hand-held camera, the 140 minute film is weakened by implausibly stupid characters and a protracted running time made unnecessarily so by superfluous scenes and a story that refuses to materialize until the half-way mark. Director Sebastian Schipper's film is hardly bad; it just lacks a story and characters to compliment its technical ambitions.

The film opens with the pulsating rhythms of night club music as Victoria (Laia Costa); a young Spanish woman living in Berlin, moves her body rapturously. Shortly thereafter, she leaves the club, only to encounter a group of young Berliners who offer her a ride in a vehicle one claims is his. Intrigued by one of the young men's flirtations, Victoria listens as Sonne (Frederick Lau) tries to coax her into the vehicle. Skeptical about his claims of ownership, she discovers the men have actually broken into the car; a development she finds amusing and maybe exciting. When the real owner calls angrily to them, Victoria runs off with the guys. And as they bop around town, drinking and killing time, an attraction between Victoria and Sonne becomes readily apparent. As the evening morphs into very early morning, Sonne follows Victoria to her job at a local cafe, where the two spend time together. As Sonne looks around the cafe, he notices a piano in the corner. Victoria plays a beautiful piece for him and after she tells Sonne that she once studied piano in school but was told she wasn't good enough. While the two consider sadly what Victoria has divulged, Sonne's friends return, desperate for him to join them. They leave but return a short time later to ask Victoria to come along on a mission to replace one of the group who is intoxicated. Sonne explains to her that Boxer (Franz Rogowski), one of the group of friends, has been summoned to meet a local underworld associate for the purpose of repaying a debt. Intrigued by the danger, Victoria joins them; unsure of what awaits her.

The story takes awhile to arrive where something resembling conflict actually happens. It is apparent that Schipper has taken his time with the characters in their nightly wanderings and revels in an attempt to allow the audience to warm to them.

The meeting with Boxer's criminal associate takes place in an underground garage, with a scary-looking coterie of thugs in attendance. The leader; Andi (Andre Hennicke), explains to Boxer that the protection he enjoyed in prison comes with a price-tag. He tells Boxer he must rob a bank at a certain time for a specific amount of money; offering him precise instructions. After Boxer balks, Andi's henchmen threaten to take Victoria away, which prompts Sonne and his friend's compliance.

There is a bit of suspense during the robbery when Victoria is unable to start the stolen, hot-wired, getaway vehicle. The scene seems a little contrived but so be it. What follows after the robbery is a string of insanely senseless and stupid acts Sonne, Victoria and the group commit, which can't be solely attributed to overlooked details. Among them is taking a couple's baby to escape police detection. Another is getting into a fire-fight with the police. I'm still wondering why the group didn't merely drive back to the garage where Andi and his group were waiting; which would mean concealment from the police and honoring Boxer's debt. But the group must do silly things to prod the story in a certain direction; even if it means behaving illogically. I'm not normally a stickler for realism but a film that employs cinema verite' and tells a story in real time with a nod toward the gritty shouldn't have a lapse when it comes to people who seem reasonably intelligent.

And on the story goes toward a mostly tragic conclusion, where members of the group die from police gunfire or wounds sustained from such.

And what happens to the film's title character; the one-time piano student who works in a cafe; who suddenly finds herself mixed up with hellions? I won't say and I must say, I didn't care. Schipper's film fails to connect us emotionally to the characters, so their misfortunes didn't affect me.

I can't find fault with the look of the film or the performances. Some scenes dawdle, such as the moment after the robbery when Blinker (Burak Yigit) has a panic attack. The vehicle is stopped while the friends tend to him. What should have been a pulse-quickening sequence instead felt like extraneous time-filler.

But Schipper earns points for his ambition; for telling a story in one take. As I always say, I'd rather see an ambitious failure than a prosaic, uninspired, box-office success. But for me, his film fails. Not miserably, mind you, but in places where the story and characters might have been better conceived. His idea had much promise. A story about an every-person who finds herself in an extraordinarily dangerous situation is a juicy concept.

I won't categorically dismiss Schipper's film because it deserves an audience. Victoria is a miss but not a disaster.