Revanche | Götz Spielmann, 2008
Götz Spielmann’s Revanche is named after the French word for “revenge”, and one would be hard-pressed to find a single word that could better sum up this slick European thriller. We open on the imposing tops of dark green trees reflected in a forest lake as the opening credits come and go, eventually leaving us with the most profound silence and stillness. After a few moments this calm is shattered by an object that crashes through the surface of the lake. This opening sequence is the perfect encapsulation of Revanche and its narrative, a film that hums with an almost overpowering quietude only for this stillness to be broken in the most explosive manner. Such an impact will inevitably leave reverberations in the form of consequences to drift slowly outwards from the point of impact, just like ripples on the water. Alex (Johannes Krisch) is an ex-con working for a sleazy Viennese brothel who has fallen in love with one of its many Eastern female employees. In order to save her he attempts to rob a bank – an attempt that goes expectedly awry – and ends up fleeing to the shady woods just outside the city. From here he visits his Grandfather’s broken down farm in order to lie low, only to receive a mixture of disdain and pity at the state of his life. As Alex pools his furious inner feelings into the chopping of wood for his ailing Grandfather, things begin to catch up with him.
Our central protagonist Alex is likeable enough, and Johannes Krisch does an excellent job portraying both his ignorance and innocence without resorting to caricature. We don’t feel sympathy for his plight but his stunted walk and receding hairline does inspire some pity, especially when everything goes wrong and he’s left fighting back the tears. We notice early on that he’s a cold, quiet individual and his silence complements that of the film very well. Of course there is absolutely no music implemented here by Spielmann, a tactic that only serves to heighten the tension even further. Revanche might have been delivered in unassumingly grey wrapping-paper but it is indeed a breakthrough for European cinema. When so many are moving against the importance of narrative it is refreshing to find a film that is driven along almost exclusively by its plot. That’s not to say Revanche isn’t beautifully shot either, the tones are consciously muted but Spielmann has a weathered knack for creating beauty in the most mundane situations and backdrops. As a filmmaker one can notice the sardonic traits of fellow Austrian Michel Haneke in his work, but with Revanche Spielmann has created something entirely different and in a class of its own.
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