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I saw it Saturday and it's still making me think about it, which in my book is the mark of a great film, as opposed to good films that you enjoy but soon forget. And yet I only watched it because I hadn't read the reviews (those I read afterwards weren't of the kind that encourage me to watch a film) so now I feel compelled to review it myself.
An old uptight woman gives piano lessons to the inmates of a women's prison. One of her pupils is very talented, but also has a (self-)destructive streak a mile wide. The film is funny and a few lines ("Sind Sie locker?") are on their way to becoming common phrases in this household.
What could have been a nice little family-compatible scenario about redemption through music is, however, much more complex. The piano, and the relationship each of the two main protagonists share with it, is linked to their own disfunctionality more than anything else. They don't use music to grow out of their madness and into regular social interaction, it's their music that made them incapable of interacting normally in the first place.
Why did the teacher give up her own budding career as a pianist many years ago? We learn about the context of her decision during the film but are never inside her head.
Why is the inmate in jail in the first place? We hear two contradicting stories, but neither she nor her teacher ever say which one they believe to be the truth.
The last four minutes, which give the film its name, are climatic on more than one aspect, but they still don't resolve anything. They give us enough elements to decide for ourselves whether the ending is a happy one. There is a curtsy, and the curtain falls. And yet the curtsy turns out to be as haunting as the opening images of the film are compelling.
Go see it for yourselves.
An old uptight woman gives piano lessons to the inmates of a women's prison. One of her pupils is very talented, but also has a (self-)destructive streak a mile wide. The film is funny and a few lines ("Sind Sie locker?") are on their way to becoming common phrases in this household.
What could have been a nice little family-compatible scenario about redemption through music is, however, much more complex. The piano, and the relationship each of the two main protagonists share with it, is linked to their own disfunctionality more than anything else. They don't use music to grow out of their madness and into regular social interaction, it's their music that made them incapable of interacting normally in the first place.
Why did the teacher give up her own budding career as a pianist many years ago? We learn about the context of her decision during the film but are never inside her head.
Why is the inmate in jail in the first place? We hear two contradicting stories, but neither she nor her teacher ever say which one they believe to be the truth.
The last four minutes, which give the film its name, are climatic on more than one aspect, but they still don't resolve anything. They give us enough elements to decide for ourselves whether the ending is a happy one. There is a curtsy, and the curtain falls. And yet the curtsy turns out to be as haunting as the opening images of the film are compelling.
Go see it for yourselves.
Four Minutes US Theatrical debut in NYC, then opens in LA
I work for the film and have information regarding its US theatrical debut in NYC. Here is the press release:
For Immediate Release Contact: Wellington Love/15minutes t: 212.366.4992, wellingtonlove@15minutespr.com
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED GERMAN FILM FOUR MINUTES
MAKES U.S. THEATRICAL PREMIERE ON APRIL 18 AT CINEMA VILLAGE
March 26, 2008 (New York, NY) — Autobahn, a division of Senator Distribution, is pleased to announce the U.S. theatrical premiere of writer/director Chris Kraus’s award-winning film FOUR MINUTES (Vier Minuten) on April 18 at Cinema Village (22 East 12th St.). Winner of 15 international awards including a German Oscar and four Bavarian Film Awards, FOUR MINUTES has also garnered audience awards from the 2007 Hamptons International Film Festival and the 2007 Frameline: San Francisco LGBT Film Festival. The film also opens in Los Angeles on April 25 at the Laemmle Music Hall.
Kraus’ gripping drama centers on 80-year-old Traude Krüger (Monica
Bleibtreu), a rigid and reclusive piano instructor who has been teaching piano at a German women’s prison for more than 60 years. Krüger has endured great loss and disappointment in her life. After losing her one true love during World War II, Krüger narrowly survives the horrors of the conflict only to face the ruins of her musical aspirations. Now a bitter and isolated old woman Krüger’s sheltered life revolves around the musical edification of thieves and killers.
Inspiration arrives in the unlikely form of Jenny von Loeben (Hannah Herzsprung), a 20-year-old musical genius who also happens to be a violent sociopath serving a life sentence for committing a gruesome murder. Ironically, Jenny’s early childhood was spent performing in capital cities around the world but as an adolescent her life descended into an inescapable cycle of physical and emotional abuse. With little hope of rehabilitation, Jenny grew up to be a hardened, heartless, and angry young woman doomed to a life of misfortune. But during a trial piano lesson Krüger witnesses Jenny’s unbridled talent, and offers the inmate a chance to hone her skills and escape solitary confinement. A reticent Jenny agrees to Krüger’s terms and the two immerse themselves in their new roles as student and teacher. After Jenny shows signs of promise, Krüger manages to persuade the prison authorities to allow the girl to participate in a prestigious regional piano competition. With her passion for music rekindled, Krüger sets about her mission to harness Jenny’s musical prowess and train her for the competition. But will Jenny’s irrepressible bouts of self-destructive violence derail her chance to perform? Will Krüger’s quest to vicariously reclaim her musical destiny push the unstable Jenny too far? Or will well-guarded secrets from their respective pasts threaten to destroy a heartfelt bond, a relationship that might ultimately restore both women’s humanity? Kraus deftly constructs a taut sensorial narrative composed of striking imagery and lush classical music. Both Bleibtreu and Herzsprung deliver nuanced, palpable performances that propel the film from beginning to end.
Kraus studied at the German Film and Television Academy from 1991 to 1998, where he now works as a lecturer. For ten years, he has enjoyed an outstanding reputation as one of Germany’s most acclaimed screenwriters. Nominated twice for the German Screenplay Award, he won the Screenplay Award of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg for FOUR MINUTES as well as the 2002 German Award for the Advancement of Film for Best Screenplay for his debut feature Shattered Glass. Kraus also received several awards for his directing achievement, such as the 2003 Bavarian Film Award. RT- 112 Minutes
EDITORS AND PRODUCERS:
For press inquiries or to arrange an interview with Chris Kraus or cast members, please contact Wellington Love at wellingtonlove@15minutespr.com or t: 212.366.4992. More information available at www.vierminuten.de