Requiem (2006)

• Year: 2006
• Released: 02 Mar 2006
• Country: Germany
• Adwords: 16 wins & 19 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454931/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/requiem
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: German
• MPA Rating: TV-MA
• Genre: Drama, Horror
• Runtime: 93 min
• Writer: Bernd Lange
• Director: Hans-Christian Schmid
• Cast: Sandra Hüller, Burghart Klaußner, Imogen Kogge
• Keywords: daughter, depression, friendship, becoming an adult, religious education, mortification,

	6.9/10
	82/100

Requiem Storyline

It is the 70’s, and in the German countryside the epileptic Michaela Klingler joins the pedagogy course at the University against the will of her pious mother, Marianne. However her father Karl Klingler rents her a room in the sorority house and Michaela travels to Tübingen. As the semester progresses, Michaela befriends her former high school friend, Hanna Imhof, who forces her to seek medical help. When Michaela has a crisis, she stops taking her medication and believes she is possessed by demons, and her health gets worse. She decides to seek out a priest, Martin Borchert, who believes in exorcism whereas the progressive parochial priest Gerhard Landauer tries to convince her to go to a psychologist.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Requiem Movie Reviews

“Requiem” in the US

Just saw the US premiere of the film at the Seattle International Film Festival. I have seen the American version of this story, but this is a far different film with a different goal.

While the US version concentrated on the more sensational parts of the story and the aftermath, this movie is much more interested in the drama of the situation and avoids the ‘creeky door’ effect of the US version. The filmmaker is very dispassionate about attempting to convince you one way or the other if it was a possession or a woman’s psychological breakdown and I find that most appealing. (The US version also tried to ride the fence in a sense, but it was more obvious which “side” it picked as there were many horror movie moments, not present in this version.) The acting was universally GREAT and all actors were so very convincing in their roles. It will be interesting to see how American audiences that venture out to see this version accept it (It will NOT be the hit that “Emily Rose” was here as this will be considered an art film in America and I doubt will be widely released.) Look for it in the US and check it out!

A sad, and true, tale.

A sad tale of a young girl’s aspirations disastrously ruined by her and her family’s inability to separate her religion from her mental illness.

The script is commendably non-judgemental, despite the subject matter, and the the movie’s early seventies setting is re-created so convincingly (with muted colours and almost dogme-like camera work) that one might forget that the film was shot only three years ago.

Some may find that the film ends before the story does, but this is merely a refreshing refusal to pander to sensationalism that is completely in keeping with the naturalistic realism of the film as a whole.

Religion vs. Science

In the 70’s, in the countryside of Germany, the epileptic Michaela Klingler (Sandra Hüller) joins the pedagogy course in the university against the will of her pious mother Marianne {Imogen Kogge). However her father Karl Klingler (Burghart Klaußner) rents a room in a sorority house and the religious Michaela travels to Tübingen. Along the semester, Michaela befriends her former high school mate Hanna Imhof (Anna Blomeier) that forces her to seek medical assistance and falls in love for the student of chemistry Stefan Weiser (Nicholas Reinke). When Michaela has a crisis, she stops using the necessary drugs and believes she is possessed by demons, and her health gets worse. She decides to seek out the priest Martin Borchert (Jens Harzer) that believes in exorcism instead of the progressive parochial priest Gerhard Landauer (Walter Schmidinger) that tries to convince her to go to a psychologist. When she has an intense breakdown, her mother together with priest Borchert decide to exorcise her with tragic consequences.

“Requiem” is an impressive dramatic movie about the fight between religion and science. In accordance with the introduction of this film, the story would be based on a true event. The acting is wonderful, giving credibility to the plot, and the dialogs and characters present a great discussion between the dogmatic religion and reason. Michaela is very well developed and it is easy to understand her confused state of mind since she had a repressed and overprotected upbringing. Hannah represents the logic and the reason; Marianne and priest Borchert represent the backward and dogmatic side of the church; Karl and priest Landauer represent the in-between these two sides. “Requiem” is not a pleasant or entertaining feature but highly recommended for fans of a powerful drama with magnificent acting and the excellent German cinema. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): “Requiem”