Requiem (2006)

Director:

Hans-Christian Schmid

Writer:

Bernd Lange (writer)

Release Date:

2 March 2006 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An epileptic girl suffers a breakdown during her first year at university, then decides to seek help from a priest in battling the troubles associated with her strict upbringing. |

Plot Keywords:

Breakdown | Priest | University | Student Home | Field

Awards:

15 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Sandra Hüller	...	Michaela Klingler
Burghart Klaußner	...	Karl Klingler
Imogen Kogge	...	Marianne Klingler
Anna Blomeier	...	Hanna Imhof
Nicholas Reinke	...	Stefan Weiser
Jens Harzer	...	Martin Borchert (Exorzist)
Walter Schmidinger	...	Gerhard Landauer (Exorzist)
Friederike Adolph	...	Helga Klingler
Irene Kugler	...	Heimleiterin Krämer
Johann Adam Oest	...	Professor Schneider
Eva Löbau	...	Krankenschwester
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stefan Müller-Doriat	...	Minestrant

Runtime:

Germany:93 min | USA:89 min | Argentina:93 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | USA:TV-MA (cable rating)

Filming Locations:

Gomaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company:

23/5 Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

Sandra Hüller's feature film debut.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Requiem' (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Paramechanical World

Requiem

To me, Requiem was a very personal and intense movie. Unlike most religious movies, who treat the subject on a large scale and don't look at the people behind the horror, Requiem went further. The horror was there, but it was way more subtle and completely different than we are used to see.

The story begins and we are introduced to Michaela, a young girl, like there are so many, who was raised very strictly and overprotected. She is ready to start her real life at the university but there is one thing that stands in her way. Her epilepsy. So her father keeps quiet when she has an attack. And he keeps it quiet when it's getting worse. But you understand why, once you get to know her mother. She's overprotective and scared to death that something is going to happen to Michaela. But never does the director judge any of the characters, although we get to know many types of people who all want to help Michaela in a different way. In the end religion wins from reason. It was already clear throughout the whole movie that these two things were opposite. Maybe it's like that in real life too.

The film was built beautifully with subtle (and sometimes less subtle) references to the fact that it was going the wrong way with Michaela. This movie could never been this good if it wasn't for the great acting from all characters.

The theme that was brought up in the end, exorcism, happened without any form of sensation and was showed in a very realistic way. You can say, the way that it goes in real life and not in an ordinary American (or other country?) movie. The last scenes were very moving and were played so real that it felt like I was looking at a documentary.

I can't say I really enjoyed the movie, but I don't think that was the director's intention.