Victoria reviewed by Robbie Collin

[@marksieving7925]

Saw this film last October, and thought it was amazing. What really struck me was the sense of immersion in the film. Because it's shot in one take from a single camera, it's like the viewer is an invisible participant in the scene.

[@HelenaCheryl]

+Mark Sieving yeah i came out of it yesterday and immediately said to my friend i feel exhausted, as if i'd actually spent the night with the characters, it was brilliant but very emotionally draining because of this

[@cristianspencer2667]

@Cedric Terry instablaster =)

[@donnerschwein]

European cinema at its best. Mediocre plot but the immersion is intense. "Run Lola Run" intensity meets Gaspar Noé’s long shot immersion. People will talk about this for years to come.

[@dennisdahmer]

one of the big hits for me, very impressed with the overall experience

[@antihinduismisbased]

Just saw the film. My mind is blown away. The way the one take is used to immersed you in the events, make you laugh, scared and even depress is just utter brilliance. What could have been a gimmick was used honestly and powerfully for brilliant story-telling. Easily one of my favourites.

[@iTzAtaXi]

Great movie indeed.. but I see you listen to great music as well..

[@antihinduismisbased]

@@iTzAtaXi indeed. Although, I must ask, have you listened to "Jane Doe" by Converge? It's my favourite, too.

[@BenVost]

Victoria is a fantastic film. I saw it last year and it rang all the right bells for me - reminded me of my youth in Germany... :D

[@RevJock]

Best film I've seen for many a year. One week later I find myself re-living scenes: The final scene let's you fully realise the achievement. True masterpiece :-)

[@ragnare]

I saw victoria without knowing about the single take or giving it much thought and i loved it all the same. I felt it captured this very elusive feeling of a young, early morning drunken romantic mayhem in a european city better than anything i have seen in a long time. The rest didnt all hold up but i felt that alone justified the shortcomings (and even made them endearing)

[@joshualunn5793]

Ben can definitely join Robbie the next time Mark and Simon go on the cruise, they make a great team in my opinion. On Victoria, I think it was genuinely one of the greatest films I've ever seen. What Robbie is saying about "This is how we experience real life" is so true. I can't stress how powerful this film was for me. I cried and laughed and chewed my tongue off with anxiety. I completely forgot I was in a cinema many many times. Don't be swayed by critics claiming this is all just a stunt or the characters' decisions are implausible or any nonsense like that. Just go and see the film, I'd be surprised if it disappointed.

[@keepitlockedtoign6651]

It's a great movie but the characters do make some unbelievably dumb decisions. *SPOLIER* As soon as they've pulled off the heist, they go clubbing a few yards away from where they've left the stolen car that they used for the heist. Really? Then, once they're in the club, they begin to flaunt the money that they've just taken, paying for drinks with hundred euro notes and telling the bartender to keep the change. They also taunt the bouncers, who earlier wouldn't let them in because they couldn't pay, about how they are now loaded. They then shout really loud and Blinker and Boxer take their tops off drawing attention to themselves. Did they not realise that in a few minutes every news transmission in the area will be reporting three men who match their descriptions that have stolen 50k and that maybe someone in the club might put 2 + 2 together and realise that they MIGHT BE IN SOME WAY RELATED??? You can't tell me that what they did wasn't incredibly mind-bogglingly idiotic.

[@joshualunn5793]

Keep It Locked To IGN Okay okay this is a very valid point and I don't want to put too many *spoilers* here so all I will say is that... They had a pretty potent mix of drugs and a hell of a lot of adrenaline in them by the time the getaway was underway. Remember what the gang leader told them when he made them take those drugs - "This will make you more aggressive and full of confidence". It certainly did that. Plus what we know about these characters is that they're not normal guys - they've been in and out of prison, are out at 4am smoking weed on a rooftop they don't live under drinking beers they didn't pay for. They're impulsive, arrogant, vindictive, all these things. They're very realistically drawn under-class "real" Berliners and in fact you could probably find people like them in any capital city in Europe. It was certainly dumb, but definitely not unbelievable. The decision I find harder to justify is Victoria's to go along with the whole thing in the first place but I think this was down to her loneliness and need for adventure which is conveyed much more subtly through choreography and Olivia's acting. My two cents.

[@Onmysheet]

Victoria was the coolest in the gang.

[@timdarkside1886]

That surprise Doc Brown was much appreciated

[@TSTSendee]

Victoria is magnificent! a must see!

[@scapegoatee3989]

It not only seems more of an achievement than "Boyhood', it sounds like it actually has a story.

[@andrearisso4792]

Terrific! A masterpiece.

[@Govanmauler]

Windy outside Rab ?

[@elmegade3]

A truly amazing piece of cinema. Highly recommended!!

[@tomjones572]

Where can I see this in the Birmingham area? Unless I'm not looking properly, it is only showing in London, or near there. Can anyone help?

[@Dach1171]

we've got it in glasgow. would be surprised if birmingham didnt. its telling me it'll be screen in mac birmingham from 22-28 april

[@tomjones572]

Thank you, I will look it up.

[@kermodeandmayo]

+Tom Jones Hi Tom - you can watch it on demand here: www.curzonhomecinema.com/#!/film/CRZ_VICTORIA

[@tomjones572]

Thank you very much. Unfortunately, it is more expensive than my local cinema, but thank you for helping me out.

[@keepitlockedtoign6651]

+Tom Jones It's on until Thursday at the Electric Cinema.

[@temisanpopo8036]

I didn’t care about the one take… but i enjoyed it as traveler it tool me back the experiences i have but with a twisted dark turn

[@Kenyanon]

Impressive movie

[@elevenseven-yq4vu]

The debut movie "Absolute Giganten" by Sebastian Schipper already dealt with a gang of friends, adolescent men, going out to party and picking up a young woman along the way. It is a night that marks both, a celebration and a crisis. The film captured the tense and extremely momentary mood of an ambiguous nightly adventure very well. "Victoria" took this concept to new extremes, transporting it into the thriller genre with much higher stakes. "Absolute Giganten" followed by "Victoria" would make a great double feature.

[@Taylor-jz3kr]

robbie collin is the biggest april fool here

[@Taylor-jz3kr]

+pleasure elf nah he's alright

[@Yablon925]

+pleasure elf Robbie's great as school holiday cover, better than the other one (James?)

[@MrJKL1980]

I really wanted to love this movie but found it quite boring. Literally nothing happens for the first hour just them walking around talking about nothing important & when things start happening it is not very exiting. What I think Robbie's getting at here is right. If it weren't for the one continuous take gimmick people would be calling it a snooze fest.

[@boschvater]

As a german I found the first hour very interesting cause the actors did a really good in portraying a gang of young berliners and laia costa's (victoria) acting was authentic in the way she played a foreigner.

[@James69813]

I not only am NOT impressed with this movie, I hated it. And I think people feel like they have to like it because it's arty. It's boring, way too long, gimmicky, outlandish (why is this woman willing to do these things? Any back story as to why? No there can't be a back story because it's all in one shot! But we can't lose our gimmick!) Ugh.... I am so alone.

[@nicklockk]

@James Ostergard There was a lot of subtle character development explaining her actions. I didn’t like the movie much either but what you’re saying is just plain wrong

[@James69813]

@@nicklockk If I just say I don't like a work of art, people demand that I expound on why. If I expound on exactly what aspects of the film I dislike, people say I'm wrong. My reaction to art is subjective. If I am bored by it, I can say that it is boring...for me. I would be lying if I stated otherwise. You say you didn't like it either but still, somehow my SUBJECTIVE opinion is wrong. If I was to express my interpretation of a Rorschach test, I would be wrong. These days, objective fact is nothing but whimsy, fleeting opinion. Is my overall impression of reality even valid in this time of elastic truth?

[@pocnit]

@@James69813 Well you said "I think people feel like they have to like it because it's arty". That's just wrong. I thought the film was amazing because it was so immersive, and felt so personal and intimate, as well as the constant uncertainty and the way it plays on your expectations. The piano scene really shows the difference between the german guy's and spanish girl's experiences of life and gives you a clear picture of why she chooses to do all the things later in the movie. When she says "they're just hands" he immediately says "no" and he's at his most serious in the entire movie. She feels like a complete failure, failed career, dead dream, boring life, low paid job in a foreign country, even her attempt at flirting with the bartender is a fail, which is why she's desperate for adventure and feeling useful, and she says yes to helping them. On the other hand, he had a rough upbringing with no talent or hope, he's on the streets stealing beer and jacking cars, and he sees a magic in her that he could never reach himself. These subtle nuances and the visceral feelings the characters express is why I liked it, not because it's "artsy". It's like being in the room with the characters and experiencing the movie just like them, with all the uncertainty and awkwardness involved. Very rare for a movie to give this feeling, usually it's much more detached and predictable.

[@Missing_hours]

Love doc brown, wish he had a permanent spot instead of mayo

[@zstepohznrebrenhoirer7]

2h18mn of crap. Making it a single continuous shot doesn't make the movie good.

[@ragnare]

I saw victoria without knowing about the single take or giving it much thought and i loved it all the same. I felt it captured this very elusive feeling of a young, early morning drunken romantic mayhem in a european city better than anything i have seen in a long time. The rest didnt all hold up but i felt that alone justified the shortcomings (and even made them endearing)

[@hasancalskan7441]

ragnare