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A ‘phenomenal’ heist thriller from 2015 has been added to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
Victoria tells the story of a young Spanish runaway (Laia Costa, who plays the titular character) who arrives in Berlin, alone and looking to meet new people.
After meeting and flirting with hunky Sonne (Frederick Lau), Victoria is invited out on the town with him and and his friends.
Unfortunately, the evening takes a shocking turn when the dark secret the men share suddenly emerges – with dangerous consequences.
What sets Victoria apart from the rest is the fact that it was shot in one continuous take by director Sebastian Schipper – resulting in much tension between cast and crew as filming came down to the wire.
It’s paid off though, and Victoria currently boasts a mighty 82% ‘fresh’ score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Contributing to the film’s impressive score, critics have praised Victoria for its propulsive energy and constantly ratcheting sense of tension.
Sight & Sound described it as a ‘lively and engrossing exercise in creative swagger,’ while Empire Magazine praised its ‘authentic and believable’ characters.
‘What a stylish piece of work from Schipper,’ said The Guardian. ‘Real high-wire film-making.’
Meanwhile, Time Out called it ‘a stylish piece of work,’ describing it as ‘real high-wire filmmaking.’
Audiences were similarly effusive in their praise, with Rotten Tomatoes user Andrew S writing: ‘This was a phenomenal film. From start to finish it kept me hooked.’
Wow, what a rush! It’s a story so overwhelming and really stressing,’ said Eye C.
‘This film is a masterpiece, if only for its direction. Pulling off a 2.5-hour one-shot sequence is an impressive feat,’ said Clem on Letterboxd.
Meanwhile, Cecinnis described it as the ‘best one-shot movie I have ever seen.’
The film has found acclaim for its ambitious one-shot structure, although its financers weren’t initially on board – forcing the director to deliver an alternative, traditionally cut version in case the planned one-shot didn’t work out.
Describing this alternate cut – which comprised of 10-minute takes – as ‘not good,’ Schipper shot the final, two hour-plus version, three times in total.
‘The first one, nobody wanted to f*** up,’ he told IndieWire. ‘We went through all the movements but it was not entertainment.’
The second attempt, he described as ‘crazy.’ With 48 hours left to finish the film, he launched into a passionate ‘hairdryer speech.’
The director revealed: ‘I was so angry with the second take, probably I was terrified too, knowing we had nothing.
‘We had money for one last take. What came into the mix was that we got to know each other, it was fun, creative, inspired, but if I look at it now what came in at the last 48 hours was not just sprinkled on top but a big spoon of aggression.’
It paid off though, and Victoria joins the likes of Boiling Point and Birdman as one of the most effective one-take films ever made.
Victoria is streaming now on Amazon Prime in the UK.
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