Victoria Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Victoria Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 11, 2016

Winner of multiple awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Sebastian Schipper's "Victoria" (2015) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German label Senator Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive documentary feature; camera test; and audio commentary with director Sebastian Schipper; and more. In German, with optional English, German, and German SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The Spanish girl

Victoria randomly speeds up, slows down and then speeds up again, but you don’t notice because the film places you right in the middle of the action and keeps you there literally until the final credits roll. Some interactive video games can do this as well, but the experience is different. The environment is artificial and you are aware that you can pause and make decisions that can instantly take you out of the game. While viewing Victoria you begin to feel the euphoria, the tension and the fear. After a while you completely forget that you are simply viewing a film.

It all begins in a night club full of strangers. This is the kind of dark and oozing atmosphere place where you would go to lose yourself for a few hours and forget that the world you live in exists, not to make new friends and talk to them. But it is here that Victoria (Laia Costa) meets Sonne (Frederick Lau), Boxer (Franz Rogowski), Blinker (Burak Yigit), and Fub (Max Mauff) and they decide to spend the rest of the night together. Victoria is Spanish and barely speaks German which is why they communicate in broken English. Sometimes they have trouble understanding each other, but it does not matter to them because they feel good together. They also feel free and invincible.

After the boys show Victoria The Roof -- their secret place on the top of a large apartment building where they like to relax and unwind -- she decides that it is time to leave. In less than an hour she has to open the coffee shop where she works and begin serving hot drinks to the early commuters. Sonne volunteers to go back with her because he knows exactly where the place is.

Less than an hour later, Victoria and Sonne can already tell that they can be more than just good friends. They smile, touch and make plans to see each other again.

But then their lives spin out of control when Boxer phones Sonne and asks him to convince Victoria to drive them to a nearby underground garage where they must meet a shady character and his goons. They absolutely have to go because Boxer owes the man. And once they meet him, they must do what he asks them to do. Walking away simply isn’t an option.

Sebastian Schipper’s Victoria is the equivalent of pure cinema. It is essentially a fluid slice of reality that sucks you in and then allows you to temporarily experience the feelings and emotions of its protagonists.

It was filmed digitally over a fixed period of time as one single continuous shot (approximately 135 minutes long). So in a way it is similar to Aleksandr Sokurov's Russian Ark, but it offers a more intense and ultimately more intimate experience. There was a script, but the film does not have a traditional structure and the movement of the actors was not prearranged. (Apparently Schipper had some basic guidelines, but the movement of people in front and around the camera was completely unrestricted).

While the technical side of the project is unquestionably unique and impressive, the strength of the film comes from the natural chemistry between its stars. It is simply amazing to watch these young actors and their unbridled emotions while Schipper follows them across Berlin. Were they actually acting?

Some very beautiful ambient tracks composed by Nils Frahm are occasionally used to very effectively slow down the film.

Victoria Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sebastian Schipper's Victoria arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German label Senator Entertainment.

The release has been sourced from the same master that Curzon Artificial Eye accessed when they prepared their Blu-ray release for the UK market. I could not see any noticeable discrepancies between the two to mention in our review. The same minor fluctuations are present here and colors appear identical. The contrast and brightness settings are also the same (compare screencaptures #5 from the two reviews that we have posted for these releases). Image stability is excellent. Finally, there are no serious encoding anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Victoria Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: German (Pure Original Version) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German (Theatrical) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and German Descriptive Audio DTS 2.0. Optional German, German SDH, and English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the original audio track. It is practically identical to the one found on the British release. Clarity and separation are excellent, but because the film's original sound design is very fluid there are some minor fluctuations in terms of balance. There are no audio dropouts, clicks, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Victoria Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original German trailer for Victoria. In English and German, without subtitles. (3 min).

• One Take Interview mit der Intro - in this documentary feature, Wolfgang Fromberg and actress Laia Costa (Victoria) visit various locations where parts of Victoria were shot and discuss in great detail the type of improvisations that were made, the film's fluid atmosphere and the camera movement, the film's success, etc. Director Sebastian Schipper and actor Frederick Lau (Sonne) also join the discussion. (Their conversation is in German, without optional subtitles). In English and German. (76 min).

• Castingszenen - casting/rehearsed scene for Victoria. In German, without subtitles. (11 min).

• Interview wit Sebastien Schipper und Frederick Lau - filmed interview with director Sebastien Schipper and actor Frederick Lau. In German, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Kameratest - camera test for Victoria from January 11, 2014. In German, without subtitles. (11 min).

• Audio Commentary - in this audio commentary, director Sebastian Schipper discusses in great detail exactly how different segments of the film were shot and a lot of the unorthodox choices that were made while following the main protagonists on the streets of Berlin, the casting of Laia Costa, etc. Mr. Schipper also phones screenwriter Eike Frederik Schulz, who further discusses the unusual structure and narrative of the film. Other "guests" include Max Mauff, who plays Fub, composer Nils Frahm, etc. In German, without subtitles.

• Trailers - trailers for other Senator Entertainment releases.

Victoria Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There is additional bonus material on Senator Entertainment's release of Victoria, but I think that English-speakers residing in Region-B territories should opt for Curzon Artificial Eye's recent release. The technical presentation is identical but the very good audio commentary with director Sebastian Schipper is fully subtitled in English. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.