Summary
The "long take" is an old obsession of film lovers.
Several innovative directors have tried to shoot an entire feature in a single take.
Authentic single-take features are rare because the longer the take goes on, the more likely something will fly off the rails.
So there's something unexpectedly cool about Sebastian Schipper's 2015 feature "Victoria".
"Victoria" premiered at the Berlinale earlier this year, where it won the Silver Bear for cinematography.
Sonne and his pals are well drunk and a little thuggish, for one thing, while Victoria is a foreigner who looks (and behaves) like a trusting 15 year old – actually Costa looks a bit like Sugarcubes-era Bj?rk – so you may find yourself dreading where the story's destined.
"Victoria" passes through locations that are commonplace settings for crime stories among the urban poor but – thanks to the film's single-take forward velocity – these don't seem trite or obvious.
As the film's Silver Bear win attests, the most important collaborating contribution is that of Gr?vlen, the film's director of photography, who literally followed the actors with his Steadicam – not for 140 minutes, but for the several hours it took to complete the single take to best effect.
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