GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Leonardo Parraga
Tic Tac, Tic Tac, Tic Tac, Tic Tac…The clock is ticking and you are about to spend the next four minutes reading this text. what is the importance of four minutes? For some people is perhaps a short break at work, a quick lunch or some demonstration of love. But for Jenny von Loeben it is the whole world. Four minutes where she demonstrates what is an artist made of, that the mind of a genius know no bounds and that passion is the most valuable fuel that on earth you can find.When madness and creativity collides, when violence flirts with talent, you get a human being that is raw and real as it gets. You can perceive by yourself how each piano key touch hides behind the deepest feelings a human could have inside. You notice with each sound how your body starts to levitate and your soul shines brighter tan the sun.If a masterpiece should contain the elements to change your perception of reality, you only need four minutes to make that happen. So, what are you waiting for? Stop reading and get ready for 112 minutes that are going to twist your world inside out.
dromasca
It's only the second feature film of German director Chris Kraus, but it's already a strong, mature and dark drama that goes much beyond the apparent limits of its place and time.It's a jail story. Jenny, the main heroine of the story is jailed for murder and has little chances to see anything than prison for the rest of her life. She is however also a very gifted pianist, but her rebellious character drives her playing as it drives anything that she does in life.The penitentiary system, as enlightened as it may be in a country as Germany has the bureaucratic, oppressive, and shadowy treats of any system that punishes and deprives men of their liberty.It's a friendship story. Traude, the piano teacher who gives music lessons to detainees in order to ease their time and improve their lives and who befriends and supports her is herself a survivor of the Nazi persecutions, who is too familiar with suffering and with what life without freedom and hope means. Yet their friendship is not an easy one, none of them is a communicator, the level of mistrust and fears that the outer world imposed on both of them prevents them from relying on each other.It's a music story. Music is supposed to play the role of redeemer and possibly do the job of deus-ex-machina in changing the fate of the heroes of the story. Yet the director who is also the script writer avoided the easy path and never falls into conventional melodrama. More than that, music is one of the conflict reasons between Jenny and Traude and in the superb final scene of the film Hannah will win her internal freedom by rejecting the classical beauty and conventional balance of the symphonic music for the freedom of improvisation of the 'negro' music that expresses herself.... and in the final seconds of the four minutes they seem to meet - psychologically and in music.Acting which is traditionally a strong item in German movies is superb here. I have already seen Hannah Herzsprung in Der Baader Meinhof Komplex and The Reader - here she gets the full screen for a role of a broken young woman, which music cannot redeem completely. Monica Belibtrau is the piano teacher - she is supposed to be the redeemer but far from being linear and angelic she cannot free herself from the sufferings and guilt of the past, and from her own limitations.Vier Minuten may surprise with its pessimistic message - if a remake is ever made at Hollywood it better keep the skeptical look, as any other approach risks to turn it into a valueless melodrama.
susanna_uk
I can't readily find fault with this movie despite being fairly critical usually... It had me hooked within the first minute and didn't let me go throughout the movie!The characters are gritty but believable and the characterization by the two lead actresses is flawless for most of the movie. The cinematography I found to be gorgeous with a rustic and brittle edge to many of the screen shots!The slow revelation of the histories involved in the two lead women's lives shows a deeper, more tangible side to who and why they are the people they are. Some of the flashback sequences are slightly dislocating but this doesn't seriously detract from the plot. The timing of these revelations is well thought out though and we start to realize that the first question we need to ask of anyone is what their past is that has made them who they are...It challenges a good few precepts about femininity as well along the way but this is secondary to the relationship dynamics of the psychological mother-daughter relationship that is setup here.It asks some deep questions about the meaning of our relationships and our purpose in life that doesn't let go right to the end. This movie doesn't hold back from any of the capricious nature of life and the consequences that it often throws in our life paths. It also shows the failure of people to deal with this on a humanistic level... often resulting in shattered and wasted lives. The violence (both emotional and physical) depicts well the struggle people have with dealing with each others 'violations', towards each other.I'd wholeheartedly recommend you see this movie! It will have you captivated from the opening sequence of the the suicide of her cell mate that Jenny sleeps through and then awakes only to then carelessly steal the last cigarette from the dead woman's body as if this is somehow a daily occurrence to the final Four Minutes that are the summation of all that Jenny is as a human being...
Claudio Carvalho
In Germany, the elder Frau Traude Krueger (Monica Bleibtreu) gives piano classes in a prison for a few prisoners and the security guard Mütze (Sven Pippig). When she sees the rebel and aggressive Jenny Von Loeben (Hannah Herzsprung) playing piano, she immediately identifies her potential and offers to teach her for a competition. Frau Krueger finds that Jenny was a prodigy when she was a child; abused when she was a teenager and has been imprisoned for murdering and decapitating a man. Along the period they work together preparing for the exhibition, Frau Krueger discloses secrets about her love in World War II while the self-destructive Jenny has four minutes of glory and recognition of her talent."Vier Minuten" is another powerful and engaging German movie, disclosing the story of two women having nothing in common but their passion for music and tormented souls. The non-linear beginning is quite confused, but provocative and intriguing (I saw this movie on DVD and I watched the first chapters again to get a better understanding); however, after ten minutes, the story becomes intelligible with the development of the characters, supported by magnificent performances and wonderful cinematography. The story is deep and touching, and viewers that enjoy superficial Hollywoodian fairy tales may not like this dense drama developed in low-pace. Monica Bleibtreu and the lovely Hannah Herzsprung have top-notch performances that deserved nomination to the Oscar. The conclusion is thrilling and heartbreaking, and will probably make the eyes of sensitive viewers wet. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Quatro Minutos" ("Four Minutes")
