Movie · 2008 · Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller · 2h 1m · German
Curator score: 8.5/10 (32.9K ratings)
Whose fault is it if life doesn't go your way?
Overview
Alex, an ex-con working as muscle in a Vienna brothel, dreams of escaping with his girlfriend Tamara, who also works there. Their attempt to break free sets off a chain of events that links their fate with a rural police officer and his troubled marriage. As their lives intersect, a quiet struggle unfolds between guilt, grief, and the desire for redemption.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.5/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.97/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Metacritic: 84
TMDB: 7.2/10
Director
Götz Spielmann
Production
Spielmannfilm, Prisma Film
Cast
Johannes Krisch, Irina Potapenko, Andreas Lust, Ursula Strauss, Hanno Pöschl, Johannes Thanheiser, Linde Prelog, Michael-Joachim Heiss, Rainer Gradischnig, Toni Slama, Johannes Zeiler, Max Schmiedl, Magdalena Kropiunig, Nicoletta Prokes, Elisabetha Pejcinoska, Aniko Bärkanyi, Annamaria Haytö, Haris Bilajbegovic, Aleksander Reljic-Bohigas, Günther Laha
Curator Review
Verdict
A restrained, morally knotty crime drama that turns a simple revenge setup into a quiet study of guilt, grief, and the possibility of grace. It’s especially rewarding if you like slow-burn European thrillers that favor atmosphere, human contradiction, and emotional fallout over plot fireworks.
Best for
viewers who like slow-burn crime dramas
fans of morally ambiguous characters
people drawn to austere European arthouse thrillers
audiences interested in guilt, grief, and redemption
viewers who appreciate understated visual storytelling
Skip if
you want fast pacing or constant suspense
you prefer clean heroes and villains
you dislike elliptical, minimalist storytelling
you need big action set pieces or overt twists
Overview
Revanche is a crime story that keeps widening its emotional circle. What begins as an escape plan and a robbery gradually becomes a meditation on how violence, shame, and accident bind strangers together. The film is patient, exacting, and deeply serious about the consequences of small choices.
Worth noting
Götz Spielmann’s direction is controlled and observant, using rural spaces, stillness, and offhand details to build tension rather than release it. The result is less a conventional thriller than a moral pressure cooker, where every character feels damaged but recognizably human.
Bottom line
It won’t be for viewers who want momentum over mood, but for those who like their thrillers quiet and devastating, it lands hard. The ending feels earned because the film has spent so much time understanding the cost of revenge before it ever arrives at the idea of forgiveness.
Top Letterboxd reviews
fran hoepfner (4.5★) · 229 likes
you wouldn't think this is the kind of movie made near perfect by the inclusion of an old guy with an accordion, and yet..
Edwin 🦦 (4★) · 198 likes
First off, I have to thank Ari Aster for putting Revanche on my radar in his recent Criterion Closet video. If it wasn’t for his recommendation, I don’t think I ever would’ve stumbled upon this movie, which feels like a hidden gem waiting for more people to discover it. This is one of those rare movies that feels understated on the surface but contains an entire world of human struggle, guilt, and redemption beneath its stillness. It’s one of the… more First off, I have to thank Ari Aster for putting Revanche on my radar in his recent Criterion Closet video. If it wasn’t for his recommendation, I don’t think I ever would’ve stumbled upon this movie, which feels like a hidden gem waiting for more people to discover it. This is one of those rare movies that feels understated on the surface but contains an entire world of human struggle, guilt, and redemption beneath its stillness. It’s one of the… more
✨️ Pedro ✨️ (4★) · 118 likes
"Bad luck.. Why am I plagued with bad luck?"
Buenísima película, una joya oculta que pocos conocen.
"Revanche" me sorprendió gratamente, la vi por su calificación y porque estuvo nominada al Oscar, pero no pensé que me iba a gustar tanto la verdad, hasta incluso siento que podría haber sido algo mejor si no contaba con varias escenas que no me sumaron.
Sinopsis: El ex convicto Alex planea huir al sur con su novia después de un robo. Pero algo… more
Varghese (5★) · 115 likes
"It is impossible to suffer without making someone pay for it; every complaint already contains revenge" - Friedrich Nietzsche
What is it about Europeans and the concept of thriller that meshes so perfectly? This slow burn mind game will slowly creep up on you and when it finally reaches the third act it will strike a dagger into your soul.The director uses serenity and sounds of nature as a technique in country surroundings to evoke the feelings of the characters who undergo sorrow,tranquility and finally harmony.Restrained performances,subtle yet beautiful camerawork this one is MUST WATCH!!!
Shawn Palmquist (4.5★) · 102 likes
88/100
Brilliant crime-thriller. It's like The Place Beyond the Pines if you were to cut out that shitty third act and keep following the two main characters even further down the rabbit hole. It goes in directions I didn't expect and manages to stay gripping throughout while maintaining a sense of realism in the decisions being made by these people in a lose-lose situation. Things never fly off the scale of believability which for me is a common problem in this sub-genre.
Not much else to say about this one...a real must see if you are at all a fan of thrillers or crime films.
2007 · Crime, Thriller, Western · 2h 2m · R · Curator 9.6/10 (3.1M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
A spare, fatalistic crime film where violence feels inevitable and human weakness is the real subject.