“Victoria,” a German film by director Sebastian Schipper, presents new potential in storytelling, but the film does not seem to fully realize this potential.
The film chronicles an early morning adventure in Berlin as young Spanish woman Victoria (Laia Costa) meets four young Berliners in a nightclub. One of the men, “Sonne” (Frederick Lau) befriends Victoria and introduces her to his friends, Boxer, Blinker and Fuss (Franz Rogowski, Burak Yigit and Max Mauff). Victoria is ultimately caught up in the men’s furtive “errands,” which serve as the main conflict of the story — the cute meet-and-greet tale spirals into a desperate struggle for survival.
The filmography of the piece makes it unique since it was shot in one continuous take over the course of almost three hours. Filming a movie in one take has been done before but never like this. “Victoria” takes the cast through the streets of Berlin as the characters move from building to building. The camera angles shift as though the audience is walking, running or dancing alongside Victoria the entire time. What makes the filming even more impressive is the extensive cast list — clubgoers, policemen and gang members all had to be ready to perform right on time. “Victoria” does a great job balancing almost perfectly planned action sequences with a seamless level or realism.
“Victoria”’s realism, though, both makes and breaks the film. On one hand, the realism serves to make the story more lifelike for the audience. The way in which the action plays out sequentially in real time, the realistic language barriers between the Spanish Victoria and her German friends, and the perfectly chaotic camera shots all create the illusion that you’re right beside Victoria and part of the action. But “Victoria” it isn’t the most convincing story. The odds of someone falling in love and risking her life in one night doesn’t quite fit in with the stark realist theme of the movie.
The movie is provocative and raises the question of what filmmaking is really about: Should one see a film for a good story, or for how the story is told? Those who watch movies as a form of escape may be surprised by the film’s realism. But some enjoy how a story is told.
“Victoria” is a brave and successful attempt at a new form of storytelling, yet one hopes that in the future such a process will come with a better storyline to underpin the filmography.
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