The Plot: A young Spanish woman (Laia Costa) living in Berlin finds herself embroiled in a heist following a chance encounter with a suave young man. And it's all filmed in one take. Why It's Awesome: An astonishing feat of cinematic alchemy, yes, the 138-minute Victoria really is a heist film recorded in one single take, with no clever CGI joins or tricks. If that's not impressive enough, it also happens to be a terrifically-acted and wildly entertaining crime drama all the same. It's fair to say that not every plot morsel in the movie makes 100% of sense, but the performers, most of all Costa, are so utterly convincing that it ultimately ends up being just a minor complaint. Watching these actors maintain their facade for more than two straight hours through a multitude of intense, energetic scenarios is as jaw-dropping as cinema ever got in 2015. That the film still manages to look visually gorgeous despite the inherent constraints of the set-up is mind-boggling. Sadly, though, Victoria was disqualified from getting a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination because too much of the dialogue was deemed to be in English. Boo!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
