Without a doubt this movie is technical masterful. And I don't even agree that the one shot is a gimmick because as it should it serves a purpose here. Our two leads have amazing chemistry and no wonder Laia Costa continues to do big things.

That being said these are basically two movies. For one hour it is a great movie about young people meeting in Berlin at night. It has a certain romantic to it. Quit after that!

But then two things happen. It turns into a very different movie and secondly our main character Victoria looses every credibility. The choices she makes in this movie no real person would ever make. The script supposedly only had 14 pages. This is to me is when a director get's lost in his technical tools forgetting that the foundation of every movie is a good story. Victoria has none.

One of the best 2015 releases (the best of those I've seen at least),Victoria is a complete surprise - a little-known team hits it out of the park ... by a few miles. Much has been said about the one-take "gimmick" - trust me, whoever calls this a gimmick can not have seen Victoria. The way the camera moves, breathes and lives with the protagonists (ultra-realistic play here and perfect casting) is simply outstanding. It's a small, actually a stupid crime story; the protagonists are all drunk and/or high (and not too bright in the beginning, except the titular Victoria) - a bit like a Coen story, but where the Coens prefer an ironic, satirical approach - always keeping that little distance between watcher and screen - Victoria draws us right in from minute one and only lets go in the last 15 seconds. You can't lean back and smile about the crazy, idiotic antics of those wannabe small-time gangsters, no, you're right in there with them and have to suffer through every bad decision with them. And on the other hand, it's also a tender getting-in-love story (of a kind) - and the same applies: As much as you'd like to shout at Victoria: "Step back, girl! This guy and his friends are BAD NEWS!! Don't get involved!!!" - you can't do that, because, you know, the neighbors might hear ... you have to live and suffer through those more than 2 hours with them.

This is what movie-making is all about.

Victoria is a Spanish girl from Madrid working and partying in Berlin. She gets approached by Sonne with his friends Boxer, Fuss, and Blinker after she leaves the club. She joins them on a birthday celebration. They steal food and beers. As the wild night continues, Boxer's prison past is revealed. Things get out of hand as Boxer's prison protector gangster Andi meets them with a job.

This is done in one take. It gives it a strange immersive quality of being part of that night. It has its ups and downs. It is very compelling at times. The early part with Victoria and Sonne alone is a bit slow. Victoria is also a little too nonchalant about the situation. She volunteers to be driver despite the scary villain and only knowing the guys from that night. Nevertheless, there is a thriller reality as we go along for the ride.