Sebastian Schipper's Victoria

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A spoiler-free description of the movie.

Victoria meets four locals at a nightclub in Berlin.

If you like these things, then you’ll like the film.

▶ Bilingual work. Half of the film is spoken in German. The other half in English.

▶ Tonal shifts. This film is tonal whiplash in the very best way, thanks to the acting chops of the small-but-mighty cast.

▶ Drool crying. There’s one scene where a character drool cries and the strand of saliva persists against all odds.

▶ Fifth wheeling. The way the film is shot, you almost feel like a ride-along in the narrative. And everybody knows you love to fifth wheel, you voyeuristic fuck. Sorry this bullet point got out of hand — but I am what I am.

What I liked about it.

Sebastian Schipper's Victoria is shot in a single take. No tricks. No fancy editing work. Just one continuous shot. The result is a narrative that you feel helplessly a part of.

The same way you felt when you were single, but your best friend was in a serious relationship. You went on their dates and they said you weren’t intruding. But you were intruding, and everyone knows it. When they went to bed, they’d talk about how you couldn’t take a hint. Be more self-aware, dammit!

Beyond the obvious technical marvel of filming a two hour story in one continuous shot, Victoria’s stars deliver compelling turns in a demanding production setup.

Laia Costa brings such depth to Victoria. Her eyes are remarkably expressive, and she’s attentive to smaller performative details. Like the way she hangs her head, often reflecting the strenuousness of the events unfolding in the story.

Practically every moment of the film hinges on the strength of her performance, and she delivers something deeply genuine.

The supporting cast, helmed by Frederick Lau, is excellent. Lau’s Sonne is convincingly charming and good-natured, despite being pulled into some of the less-than-ideal circumstances that make up much of the film.

These commanding performances make for a film exceedingly articulate regarding its tone — how it should move, sway, or abruptly break with the story. The film plays somewhere in between an airy, romantic meet-cute and a high-intensity, hyper-realist crime-thriller.

This tonal parkour is often bolstered by notably mercurial camera work from cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen. Its gait feels no less affected by the same stressors as the characters themselves. By the conclusion, you can feel the exasperation.

No doubt, though, Victoria’s greatest accomplishment is the performances of its stars. Most notably, Laia Costa, who lays it all on the line as the titular character.

Enjoy the film.

A fact or two about the production that makes you say “oh, neat”.

▶ Sebastian Schipper had only three chances to film Victoria in a single, uninterrupted take. His plan B: he took ten days to shoot a traditional version of the film, just in case the single take version didn’t pan out. Schipper says the actors were too conservative in the first single-take. In the second, they were too unhinged. Finally, in Berlin between 4:30am and 7:00am on April 27, 2014, the final take was recorded. Schipper says this take was the most fun, creative, and inspired.

▶ The script was only 12 pages long. With such a short script, the actors had to improvise most of their dialogue and movements. The English translation provided to Laia Costa (Victoria) was only three pages long.

One great line of dialogue from the film.